New Delhi: Restorers have found small objects left behind by previous workers beneath floorboards and inside the thick walls of Buckingham Palace: worn hobnailed boots, a 1949 whist-drive ticket, blank 1957 football pools slips, an empty Silk Cut packet and a piece of 1889 West End theatre listings.
“Blank Littlewoods Football Pool betting coupons from 1957, a pair of worn black hobnail boots, and an empty Silk Cut cigarette packet were among the everyday items discovered beneath the structure, alongside an almost 140-year-old fragment of West End theatre listings from The Standard newspaper in 1889,” reported The Independent.
The objects were found during a decade-long, £369 million restoration of the central London palace. The artefacts offer a personal picture of a building usually associated with ceremonies and the British monarchy and instead show staff taking breaks, placing bets, smoking, reading newspapers and playing cards as ordinary activities inside a workplace.
“Workers renovating Buckingham Palace have uncovered a treasure trove of forgotten everyday items hidden beneath floorboards and inside walls for decades,” reported Upday, adding that the discoveries “offer a rare glimpse into the daily lives of royal staff and past events”.
More than a royal household
In the 1880s, a piece of The Standard’s theatre listings slipped into the building and remained there for more than a century. Then, a 1949 ticket from a whist drive organised by the Royal Household’s social club was found. It offered a glimpse of staff spending time together, long before TV lounges and staff canteens became common.
By 1957, blank Littlewoods Football Pool coupons had been left behind, showing the same desire to try one’s luck common among millions of people across Britain on Saturday afternoons.
“A ticket to a ‘whist drive’ run by the Royal Household’s social club nearly 80 years ago is among a collection of forgotten items uncovered during the restoration of Buckingham Palace,” read another report.
The worn, black and hobnailed boots suggest the work involved in keeping a 775-room palace running. They point to long shifts, damp corridors and hard labour.
An empty Silk Cut cigarette packet, a brand often associated with Princess Margaret, was also found among the remains of everyday life.
The discovery emerges as Buckingham Palace approaches the end of its decade‑long overhaul to replace ageing cables, lead pipes, electrical wiring and boilers.
“The most cost-effective way to replace these essential services, and to ensure that the Palace is fit for purpose for the next 50 years, is to undertake a phased programme of works over ten years,” the official website explained, justifying the £369 million cost.
But when the scaffolding comes down in March 2027, King Charles III has declared that he will not move into the palace. Instead, the reigning British monarch, along with Queen Camilla, will remain at Clarence House, while Buckingham Palace will continue to serve as the ceremonial and administrative centre.
“King Charles III will receive £99.9 million in core annual funding from the taxpayer from 2027-28, after Treasury ministers said the Royal Family’s official workload is increasing,” Royal Central reported, even as the overall Sovereign Grant falls after the palace works are completed.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)