Buckingham Palace to be closed to public at London Olympics

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Queen will entertain Olympics dignitaries at Buckingham Palace while it is closed to members of the public, The Telegraph reported.

With a unique exhibition to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, officials hoped that a record number of visitors would flock to Buckingham Palace this year. The Queen, however, had to shut the palace to the public for three of the most lucrative weeks of the summer opening because of the London Olympics.

“Buckingham Palace will be closed during the Olympics,” confirms a spokesman for the Royal Collection. “During this time, the Queen will be hosting a number of events.”

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be entertaining visiting dignitaries and officials at their London residence. Receptions will be held in state rooms that would normally be open to the public during July.

Security concerns are understood to have ruled out the possibility of members of the public being allowed to visit at the same time as foreign officials are being entertained.

A source at the Royal Collection, the charity which manages the Queen's art collection, says there is disappointment that the Olympics are preventing the palace from capitalising on the wide appeal of the Diamond Jubilee.