Buckingham Palace state dining room closed amid safety concerns over ceiling



The State Dining Room at Buckingham Palace, the setting for sumptuous royal banquets for world leaders and others dignitaries, has been closed amid concerns over the safety of the ceiling, it has emerged.

Buckingham Palace conformed that access to the room, used just last month to host a state banquet for the Chinese President Xi Jinping, had been “suspended” while further checks are carried out.
It follows what was described as a “routine survey” which raised questions about with a beam which forms part of the elaborate gilded ceiling.
But the Palace played down reports that the room will be closed for at least six months, saying it was not yet clear how significant the issue is.
It is understood that that the issue is not believed to affect adjoining rooms including the Ballroom and Picture Gallery after inspections there found no problems.
“As the result of a routine survey an issue was found with one of the ceiling beams in the roof space of the State Dining Room. Following further assessment, access to the room has been suspended”
Buckingham Palace spokesman
Official events, such as a large annual diplomatic reception, will be diverted into adjoining rooms which the State Dining Room is out of use.
But it follows the disclosure earlier this year that the 300-year-old Palace is in need of at least £150 million of urgently-needed repair work.
One option being considered is for the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh to move out of the Palace for up to a year, living instead at Windsor Castle, for the work to be carried out.
The Royal Household has already spent more than £2 million on urgent repairs to the palace in recent years, removing asbestos and replacing roofing.
But the building, which has not been refurbished or since the 1950s, needs major work including a complete rewiring and replacing the plumbing.
A spokesman said: “As the result of a routine survey an issue was found with one of the ceiling beams in the roof space of the State Dining Room.

“Following further assessment, access to the room has been suspended.”

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