Buckingham Palace garden set to open on Friday to public for first time

The largest private garden in London contains rare plants, flowers, beehives and a three and a half acre lake

The 3.5 acre lake is set in 35 acres of gardens dating back to the 1820s (PA)

The Buckingham Palace garden will be open to the public for the first time from Friday 9 July.

Visitors to the historic house can take self-guided tours and enjoy picnics on the sweeping lawns, while pre-booked guided ‘Garden Highlights’ tours will take in the rose garden, summer house and wildflower meadow.

The route includes the 156-metre Herbaceous Border, the Horse Chestnut Avenue, plane trees planted by and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, and views of the island and its beehives across the three and a half acre lake.

Daily talks by wardens and family trails will also be included as part of the experience.

The 39-acre garden dates back to the 1820s and is home to native plants rarely seen in London, more than 1,000 trees, a rose garden, five beehives, 320 different wildflowers and grasses and the National Collection of Mulberry Trees.

A range of picnic-inspired products will also be available for sale, including a pale blue picnic blanket (£35), cotton napkins embroidered with a gold fork and spoon (£8.95) and a reusable water bottle.

Inspired by royal ceremonies and summer flowers, the Royal Collection Trust designs also include a colourful sandwich bag (£7.95) decorated with corgis, carriages, cupcakes and soldiers in red tunics and bearskin hats – and even a Buckingham Palace hand sanitiser (£3.95) bedecked with a mauve crown and two sprays of flowers.

Visitors to the Queen’s London home must book in advance, with additional places being made available throughout the summer due to high demand.

Sally Goodsir, the Royal Collection’s curator of decorative arts, explained how the garden is “steeped in history”, with George III’s consort Queen Charlotte once having a menagerie on site, including a zebra.

Prince Albert also nearly drowned whilst ice-skating on the lake in 1841, but was rescued by his wife Queen Victoria.

A visitor services warden for the Royal Collection said: “It's an exciting prospect to allow people to come in and picnic in the gardens and explore to their own leisure.

“We're sort of in an oasis within the centre of London so not many people realise it's here or how big it is either.

“It's the largest private garden in London, so I feel like we've got lots of secrets to tell people.“

While the Queen’s usual roster of summer garden parties have been cancelled this year due to the pandemic, Prince William welcomed NHS workers to a special Big Tea party in Buckingham Palace gardens on Monday to pay tribute to their “extraordinary” efforts over the past 16 months.

Kate Middleton was self-isolating at Kensington Palace, however, after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19.

Tickets are on sale at £16.50 for adults and can be purchased at www.rct.uk.