The Royal Mews and The King's Gallery

The State Rooms are open for eleven weeks a year. Most visitors to London are not there during those eleven weeks, and the standard advice they get — “see the Changing of the Guard instead” — is correct but incomplete.

There are two more Royal Collection Trust attractions on Buckingham Palace Road, both a short walk from the Palace forecourt, both with far longer seasons, and both routinely skipped because they do not have the word “Palace” in the name.

The Royal Mews

It is a working stable, not a museum of one — the horses, carriages and motor cars that do the actual state work are kept and maintained here, and you are walking through the operational building.

The headline object is the Gold State Coach, which is around 260 years old and has carried every coronation procession since it was built. It is not subtle. Alongside it sit the carriages used for royal weddings and state visits, the horses themselves, and the harness rooms.

A free multimedia tour is included with admission, with British Sign Language and audio-descriptive versions available. Blue Badge Guides are permitted to guide at two points in the Main Quadrangle — a small detail that matters if you are on a guided royal-London walk and wondering whether your guide can come in.

Opening: it was listed as open daily at the time of writing, but the Royal Mews historically closes for part of the winter and is not a 365-day attraction. Check the dates you are travelling on rct.uk.

Price: we could not read a current Royal Mews price on rct.uk directly, so we are not going to quote you one. It is materially cheaper than the State Rooms.

The King’s Gallery

Immediately beside the Palace, this is the exhibition space for the Royal Collection — a rotating programme drawn from one of the largest and least publicly visible art collections in the world.

The 2026 exhibition is Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style, marking the centenary of her birth, and Royal Collection Trust announced in May 2026 that it had been extended because of unprecedented demand. Adult admission is reported at around £22, with reduced rates for young people and children — reported rather than verified, because that price table did not load for us either.

Opening: listed as open daily at the time of writing.

Like the State Rooms and the Mews, a King’s Gallery ticket can be converted into a 1-Year Pass — but only if you buy direct from Royal Collection Trust. Its terms exclude tickets bought through a tour operator or ticket agent.

The combined ticket

If you want more than one of the three, Royal Collection Trust sells a Royal Day Out covering the State Rooms, The King’s Gallery and the Royal Mews, at £65.70 for an adult booked in advance (£69.30 on the day). The concession tiers below that are Young Person (18–24) £42.70, Child (5–17) £32.80 and disabled visitors £32.80. RCT states the combination carries a 10% saving over buying the three separately.

There is also a Buckingham Palace + Royal Mews combined ticket with the same 10% structure.

Both, obviously, require the State Rooms to be open — so they are summer products. Outside 9 July – 27 September 2026, the Mews and the Gallery are bought individually.

Where this fits in a real itinerary

Travelling in winter? This is your Buckingham Palace day. The Changing of the Guard in the morning — Monday, Wednesday or Friday, free, weather permitting — then the Mews or the Gallery in the afternoon, both indoors and both a few minutes’ walk away. That is a complete, honest half-day at the Palace without the interior being open at all.

Travelling in summer? Do the maths on the Royal Day Out before you buy the State Rooms ticket on its own. If you were going to visit two of the three anyway, the combination is cheaper.

Short on time? The Mews is the more distinctive of the two. Changing exhibitions exist in every capital city; a working royal stable with a 260-year-old gilded coach in it does not.

Written 1 August 2026. Royal Mews and King’s Gallery content, current open-daily status, the Gold State Coach, the free multimedia tour and the Blue Badge Guide arrangement come from rct.uk’s own visit pages. The Royal Day Out prices (£65.70 adult advance / £69.30 on the day, Young Person £42.70, Child and disabled £32.80) and the 10% saving were read at source on rct.uk and re-confirmed 1 August 2026. The King’s Gallery £22 adult price and the Royal Mews price are reported rather than verified — those tables did not load. The extension of the Queen Elizabeth II exhibition is from an RCT announcement of 22 May 2026. The Royal Mews closes for parts of the winter; confirm opening dates on rct.uk before travelling. This is an independent guide with no affiliation to the Royal Collection Trust or Buckingham Palace.