Windsor Castle and some of Queen Elizabeth's royal palaces are reopening this July. This brings good news to Her Majesty and the royal family after their huge financial losses in the past few months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Queen's various properties, including Windsor Castle, are usually open to the tourists for certain months every year, earning the royal family a gross of $100 million in bookings and gift shop sales. But since the third week of March, tours had to be shut down because of the government's orders to limit movement and temporary halt businesses to stop the spread of the virus.
But on July 23, Windsor Castle will finally welcome in-person visitors, according to reports. The Queen's Palace of Holyroodhouse in Scotland, the Royal Mews in Buckingham Palace and The Queen's Galleries in Edinburgh will also be welcoming tourists.
These historical sites will have safety measures in place to protect the staff and visitors from the virus transmission. The number of visitors will also be limited to properly enforce social distancing.
The news comes as the Royal Collection Trust announced it could be laying off more than 200 staff since the palaces have been shut down and haven't been earning income. While the tours are restarting slowly, the limitations could still affect staff wages, ticket sales and operations.
Master of the Royal Household Vice-Admiral Tony Johnstone-Burt revealed in an email to palace staff that the royal palaces might likely not be fully operational until the next year. Thus, job cuts and other cost-effective measures will be set in place.
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth is expected to leave Windsor Castle by August for her summer home in Balmoral. Her Majesty has been isolating in the Windsor estate with her husband, Prince Philip, since the beginning of the pandemic
However, since Windsor Castle is reopening to tourist, Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh will be moving out for their own health and safety. Her Majesty was due to visit Balmoral this July anyway, as she annually does, but her trip will just be pushed back for a few weeks.
It is understood that after Balmoral, where the Queen plans to stay until October, Her Majesty might decide to return home to Windsor Castle or stay in her Sandringham estate. Sources said that the Queen has no place to return to London until 2021. It is unclear if Prince Philip will join her as well since he usually stays in his farm in Sandringham around the fall.
