CHEEKY! Mark Felton reviews Buckingham Palace (he's not impressed)

Mike,

Thanks for posting, that was very entertaining. I am familiar with Mark Felton, as I've watched some of his excellent WW2 history videos. After watching this video, I won't be adding Buck House to my London itinerary anytime soon!

Not my experience. We didn’t go to the food tent or gift shop. Everyone was nice and not very crowded, thankfully.

I am not impressed by his video. He needs to get in touch with reality, and post 9/11 security. As he should well know we have had more than our share of serious security/terrorist incidents in this country with very tragic consequences. No one can take any chances.

People should not be allowed in with backpacks, period. It's the same at any concert venue- including in the United States. Leave them in your hotel and travel around with just the essentials you need for the day. It is not a venue responsibility to provide storage. Also people can be so rude and inconsiderate with backpacks, especially in a confined space.

If you insist on walking around with a backpack of course don't wear it. It is a working palace- you may well knock things over if it is on your back.

The same applies to photography-security. Just get real.

It is unclear from his rant whether or not there are toilets at the entrance. I would guess there are (can anyone confirm that?) and it is a legal requirement that a catering establishment has facilities for it's guests so I assume there were some there somewhere near the cafe. Why on earth does he expect to use the royal facilities as well?

Well, lots of people have commented on general crowding in London. Is he so deluded that he thought he was buying an exclusive tour? I have not been inside, but even I have seen several times the crowds at the entrance. If his academic research is so poor I'll give it a miss, thank you.

As ever, the video says more about Mark Felton than a visit to Buckingham Palace. What a self opinionated fool!

I have subscribed to his channel for many years and enjoy his historical analysis videos, but I don't know enough about him as a person to know if he is too touchy or over sensitive regarding his surroundings and human interactions, so I'm hesitant to form an opinion about his visit to Buckingham.

Let's not forget that some of the issues, and his reaction to them, may be slightly exaggerated for comedic value. It's supposed to be funny.

Like it Nick!

I thought it was pretty funny and probably a bit tongue-in-cheek. Some of the YouTube comments were just as funny. I'm not sure why they don't allow photography, though. Even the White House lets you take photos.

I doubt I will ever be there when it opens (and that 1-year validation thing was pretty funny as well), so I'm not too worried about it. 😊

Since nearly all of these points are disclosed on the website with suggestions as to what to do when tickets are purchased I don't really know what to make of this:

• No toilets until the end of visit in the garden: advised to use public toilets in Victoria Station before arrival (although there will be ones in shops & cafes etc nearer). The exclusive guided tours actually do have toilet access at the start which suggests they exist but are too limited for general admission.
• Small backpacks to be carried in hand (not uncommon as already mentioned but some other places allow them being worn on front).
• No access with or storage of large bags: Store at Victoria Station (although Luggage Hero has plenty of shops listed within 400m for £1.20 to £1.40 per hour which will probably be cheaper).
• No photography inside: but you can outside in the gardens.

Having said that I think that the shortage of time that Buckingham Palace is open mean that the entrance facilities have not been as developed as fully as may be expected. If as been suggested The King has a view for the Palace to be open much more regularly once the repairs and restoration is complete then this may need to be addressed. The price reflects the scarcity but I don't see it coming down.