Queen's audience room

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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

  1. 1 2 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.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Palmer, Dean (2015). The Queen and Mrs Thatcher : An Inconvenient Relationship. p. 10. ISBN   978-0-7509-6265-0. OCLC   914159588.
  3. ↑ Hamilton, Alan (28 November 1990). "Audience with the Queen". The Times . No. 63875. p. 1. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  4. ↑ Morgan, Peter (2013). The Audience. p. 11. ISBN   978-0-571-30407-3. OCLC   864550527.
  5. ↑ "Electric fireside chat at the Palace". The Times . No. 70815. 22 February 2013. p. 13. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  6. ↑ "First day...and first breach of royal protocol". The Times . No. 72908. 25 July 2019. p. 13. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  7. ↑ Hewison, Robert (2023-02-03). The Heritage Industry. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   978-1-000-87362-7.
  8. 1 2 "McCartney marks a long, winding road". The Times . No. 71698. 9 September 2015. p. 10. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
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