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The palace’s grandest rooms will undergo ‘phased closures’ for refurbishment

Buckingham Palace will be undergoing huge upheavals in the coming months as the £369m refurbishment closes some of its grandest rooms.

Next month’s visit by the Emir of Qatar will be the last state visit to take place at the famous royal residence for three years, as work continues on its historic renovations.

The palace’s grandest rooms will undergo “phased closures” for refurbishment, beginning with the White Drawing Room, the Music Room, the Blue Drawing Room and the State Dining Room.

The King and Queen will instead host royal receptions at St James’s Palace or Windsor Castle until the palace re-opens fully in 2027.

The latest hearing in the Duke of Sussex’s High Court claim against the publisher of the Daily Mail began on Tuesday.

Harry is among a group of high-profile individuals, including Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Sir Elton John, bringing legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) for allegedly carrying out or commissioning unlawful activities such as hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars.

ANL firmly denies the allegations and is defending the legal action, claiming the allegations are “lurid” and “simply preposterous”.