Please note, the Banqueting House is currently closed to the public for planned conservation work - it will re-open on 20 April 2018. Please also check below for additional early closures.
Admission tickets Your ticket confirmation Your ticket is valid on your nominated date, or on any other date during normal hours, for up to 60 days afterwards. You will receive an email confirmation at time of booking with your ticket voucher included. A printed copy of this voucher must be presented on arrival at the venue, on the day of your activity. You may be refused entry if you do not present a printed copy of your voucher. Cancellation Policy Tickets are not refundable. All sales are final and incur 100% cancellation penalties.
Opening times Monday-Sunday: 10.00-17.00 Last admission 16.30 Closed 24-26 December and 01 January The Banqueting House occasionally closes early for private events. Upcoming closures: 24 April 2018 - closed from 16:00 26 April 2018 - closed all day Last admission is 45 minutes prior to the Banqueting House closing, unless otherwise stated.

Visit the only complete building of the old Palace of Whitehall to have survived when that building burned down after the execution of Charles I.

The Banqueting house was built for grand occasions and has been the scene of many plays, grand balls and masques, as well as traditional banquets laid out for important guests. When you visit you will be in awe of one of the finest venues in London for both royal and high society functions.

This revolutionary building, the first in England to be designed in a Palladian style by Inigo Jones and completed in 1622, was intended for the splendour and exuberance of court masques, the Banqueting House is probably most famous for one real life drama: the execution of Charles I which took place here in 1649 to the ‘dismal, universal groan’ of the crowd.

One of Charles’s last sights as he walked through the Banqueting House to his death was the magnificent ceiling, painted by Peter Paul Rubens in 1630-4. The Banqueting House and its features became much copied. Following the fall of the monarchy, Jones’ career was effectively ended. He died in 1652, never having seen the popularity of the concepts he introduced.

Location: Banqueting House, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2ER

Nearest station:Westminster, Embankment and Charing Cross

The Banqueting House

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