The restored Banqueting House reopens fully next month

The restored Banqueting House in central London will be formally reopening in August, following a major restoration and a year of smaller previews.

The Banqueting House has witnessed dramatic moments in history, including the execution of King Charles I. Originally created as a space to stage entertainments and completed in 1622 as part of the Palace of Whitehall, the Banqueting House is a masterpiece of classical architecture designed by Inigo Jones for James I. It was intended to host extravagant performances known as ‘masques’, but was later used for diplomatic meetings and to stage the ritual touching carried out by historic English monarchs to heal ‘the King’s Evil’.

In 1630, King Charles I commissioned Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens to create a painting on the ceiling. This magnificent artwork is a collection of nine paintings glorifying the achievements of Charles I’s father, King James I, a testament to royal power and the divine right of kings. The painting was installed in 1636, and just 13 years later, Charles I was led beneath the very ceiling he had commissioned to his execution on a scaffold outside the Banqueting House.

Most of the Palace of Whitehall, the principal residence for the Tudor and Stuart monarchies, perished to a fire in 1698, leaving the Banqueting House as the sole complete survivor of the lost royal palace.

The restoration has upgraded visitor facilities while carrying out essential conservation works to safeguard the building for the long term. A new lift now provides step-free access to the Main Hall, allowing more visitors to experience the space and its centrepiece: the spectacular Rubens ceiling.

Prior to the restoration

After the restoration

The Banqueting Hall will reopen on 1st August and remain open until 20th September.

Tickets can be booked here.

Prices from 1st August: Adults £10.00 / Concessions £8.00 / Children (under 16) and HRP members go free. There is also a £1 ticket for those in receipt of certain means-tested financial benefits.

Banqueting House is on Whitehall, a few minutes walk from Westminster, Embankment or Charing Cross tube stations.