Queen's audience room
The Queen's audience room is a room in Buckingham Palace where the British monarch meets heads of states and politicians. It is located within the private apartments on the north west side of the palace.[1]
Elizabeth II met her Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom in the Audience Room, kissing hands with them upon their appointments and receiving their subsequent resignations.[2][3]
The room was where Elizabeth met James Bond in the Happy and Glorious section of the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.[2] The 2013 play about Elizabeth's meeting with her British prime ministers, The Audience, takes place in the Private Audience Room.[4]
Two paintings by Canaletto and two portraits by Thomas Gainsborough hang in the room and it is decorated in pale blue.[1] Two chairs by François Herve upholstered in yellow silk from 1826 stand in the centre of the room.[2] The chairs were previously upholstered in burgundy before Queen Mary desired they be clad in a more 'cheerful' colour.[2] The room was heated by a two bar electric fire in 2013 and cooled by a Dyson fan in 2019.[5][6] The room was decorated by John Fowler of Colefax and Fowler.[7]
The official portrait to mark Elizabeth's record as the longest reigning British monarch was taken in the audience room by Mary McCartney in 2019.[8] McCartney's portrait depicts Elizabeth working through her red boxes of official papers.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Jureidini, Ben (4 October 2024). "A rare glimpse into the private apartments at Buckingham Palace offers a touching insight into how the late Queen Elizabeth II spent her downtime". Tatler. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d Palmer, Dean (2015). The Queen and Mrs Thatcher : An Inconvenient Relationship. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-7509-6265-0. OCLC 914159588.
- ^ Hamilton, Alan (28 November 1990). "Audience with the Queen". The Times. No. 63875. p. 1. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ Morgan, Peter (2013). The Audience. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-571-30407-3. OCLC 864550527.
- ^ "Electric fireside chat at the Palace". The Times. No. 70815. 22 February 2013. p. 13. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "First day...and first breach of royal protocol". The Times. No. 72908. 25 July 2019. p. 13. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ Hewison, Robert (2023-02-03). The Heritage Industry. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-87362-7.
- ^ a b "McCartney marks a long, winding road". The Times. No. 71698. 9 September 2015. p. 10. Retrieved 12 September 2022.