http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19930808&slug=1714886
The Seattle Times
Sunday, August 8, 1993
England -- Playing The Palace: Royal Open House Has Begun
By William Tuohy
Los Angeles Times
LONDON - Like many of her noble subjects, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is bowing this summer to the sometimes cruel realities of modern economics.
Over the years, most of the stately homes in Britain have admitted the paying public to help finance upkeep. The list includes parts of Windsor Castle and the Princess of Wales' ancestral estate, Althorp House.
But never - until now - has the world's most famous royal residence and headquarters of the British monarchy been opened for public tours.
For eight weeks (beginning yesterday), however, that all is changing as Buckingham Palace hosts an anticipated 450,000 visitors willing to pay an adult admission of $12 for a peek at 18 of the more than 600 rooms in the palace.
The queen's motive for inviting the public to view the sumptuous staterooms of Buckingham Palace is a variation on the one that has opened all those other stately homes: She hopes to help pay for restoration of Windsor Castle, which was badly damaged in a fire last November.
The mother of all queues
The decision is being widely applauded here as giving her subjects a chance to see their monarchical heritage up close. And the anticipated lineup for the 7,000 tickets to be sold daily is already being referred to as "the mother of all queues."
"It's going to be the No. 1 attraction," said Isabel Coy, an official with the British Tourist Authority. "It's our living heritage. The real Royal Family runs a business from there. It's only open for a limited time, so there's a sort of exclusive cachet."
