Buckingham Palace's East Wing to be emptied for major renovation works

An entire wing of Buckingham Palace will be emptied during the next stage of the huge renovation project.

It will mean removing 3,000 items of art and furniture from the six floors of the East Wing – 150 of which will be relocated to the Royal Pavilion in Brighton.

The Pavilion – which was visited by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex this week – was sold by Queen Victoria and its contents were moved to London in 1850.

The East Wing is home to 3,000 items of art and furniture. Credit: Buckingham Palace
The artwork is to be loaned to the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Credit: Buckingham Palace

Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, incorporated many of the Chinese-themed interiors into Buckingham Palace's East Wing – where they have remained until today.

The items were acquired by the extravagant George IV, formerly the Prince Regent, who had the iconic Indo-Chinese palace built in the Sussex seaside town of Brighton.

Buckingham Palace's restoration is set to last several years. Credit: Buckingham Palace

The Director of the Royal Collection, Tim Knox, said: "Decanting an entire wing of an historic building on the scale of Buckingham Palace is a huge undertaking and requires meticulous planning.

"We are delighted that around 150 items will return on loan to Brighton's Royal Pavilion next summer, so that visitors can enjoy these extraordinary works in their original home."

The £369 million cost of what the Royal Household calls the 'reservicing programme' of Buckingham Palace is being funded by a temporary uplift in the Sovereign Grant.

The palace has not be properly renovated since the 1950s. Credit: Buckingham Palace

Rather than take 15% of the income from the Crown Easter – the proportion has been raised to 25% for several years.

Buckingham Palace has been deemed to be in a poor state of repair as many of the systems and wiring has not been updated since the 1950s.