Dusting off HM’s drawing rooms! Windsor Castle staff wearing backpack vacuums to clean chandeliers ahead of a six-month exhibition of the opulent Semi-State Rooms
- Windsor Castle will open its Semi-State Rooms, which include Crimson Drawing Room to the public tomorrow
- Chandeliers of gilt bronze and cut-glass are being dusted with care by staff in preparation of rooms opening
- They are believed to have been commissioned by George IV for the saloon at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton
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Staff at Windsor Castle are having a final dust and polish this afternoon ahead of welcoming the public to its grandiose Semi-State Rooms tomorrow.
Conservators have been spotted with vacuum backpacks attending to the impressive chandelier and candelabras in the Crimson Drawing Room. The new six-month exhibition will see the Green Drawing Room also open to royal fans from tomorrow.
The Royal Collection Trust looks after the rooms, which are different from the Royal family’s private apartments where the royal family resides when in Windsor. The Semi-State Rooms were created for George IV and are amongst the castle’s most lavish in design.
Suck it up! Royal staff – wearing backpack vacuums – are seen dusting off the candelabras of the Crimson Drawing Room at Windsor Castle as it prepares to open its Semi-State rooms to the public tomorrow
Usually kept for private events, they will be open to the public from tomorrow until March for a special exhibition and entrance to them is included with a ticket to the castle.
The cut-glass chandelier of the Crimson Drawing room was possibly the one originally commissioned by George IV when he was Prince Regent for the Saloon at the Royal Pavilion, Brighton.
It was moved to different locations several times, until finally being hung in the Crimson Drawing Room in 1939 on the orders of Queen Mary.
The fire of 1992 severely damaged the chandelier and so most of what can be seen today is modern restoration thanks to the Royal Trust’s work.
In photos released this afternoon, staff were seen very carefully dusting off the beautiful chandelier, which is made in gilt bronze and cut glass, ahead of the Rooms’ opening.
An employee can be seen delicately dusting off the Crimson Drawing Room chandelier. It is believed it was commissioned by George IV when she was Prince Regent for the Saloon at the Royal Pavilion, in Brighton
The Crimson Drawing Room is often used by the Queen for private events when she resides in Windsor.
The Green Drawing Room, meanwhile, was the backdrop for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s official wedding pictures in May 2018.
When the Semi-State Rooms open tomorrow, visitors will be able to absorb the beauty of the exquisitely décor.
The Public State Apartments include the Grand Reception Room and St George’s Hall, where Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, introduced their son Archie to the world in May 2019.
These are separate from the Royal Family’s private apartments, where the Queen, 95, stays when she is in Windsor.
The Crimson Drawing room, pictured, is often used by the Queen for private events when she resides in Windsor. The Semi-State room will be opened to the public until March
The Green Drawing Room is also part of the new tour of Windsor Castle. It was the backdrop to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding pictures in 2018
The rooms are said to be George IV’s last and most significant commission – with the interior decoration amongst the most elaborate and expensive in England at the time.
The Royal Collection Trust suffered a financial blow due to the pandemic and will be hoping for a boom in visitor numbers to boost its coffers.
Its income derives from visitor admissions to tourist attractions such as Windsor Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the summer opening of Buckingham Palace, and the Queen’s Galleries in London and Edinburgh, and related retail sales.
The trust maintains and displays the large collection of royal artefacts from artwork to furniture held in trust by the Queen for her heirs and the nation, and carries out other charitable work.
Using a paintbrush, a member of staff carefully inspects one of the candelabras of the Crimson Drawing room for dust ahead of its opening tomorrow
The magnificent chandelier, pictured, requires painstaking and delicate work to ensure its cut glass remains in gleaming condition. It was hung in the Crimson Drawing room in 1939, and was severely damaged in the 1992 fire that destroyed Windsor Castle
The rooms are said to be George IV’s last and most significant commission – with the interior decoration amongst the most elaborate and expensive in England at the time
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