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Buckingham, St James Palace & Afternoon Tea at Kensington Palace

5.0 Excellent 105 reviews
|
2h 30m
|
English
Free cancellation · up to 24 hours before Instant confirmation Live guide

Ratings & Reviews

5.0
105 reviews
5
101
4
3
3
1
2
0
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Ratings collected from Guidekin & Viator & Tripadvisor
Recommended by 99% of travellers: 104 four- and five-star reviews

Overview

Guidekin summary

Pair a royal quarter walk with afternoon tea at Kensington Palace in a small shared group of up to ten. Guiding, a private tea table, sandwiches, scones and cakes are included; palace entry requires the ticket option and bus fare is extra. 4.95 from 105 reviews at €158 per person for 2h 30m.

From the guide

See Three Palaces & experience the magnificence of London’s royal quarter with a walk around its most stunning monuments followed by an authentic afternoon tea in Royal surroundings in the company of a knowledgeable guide.

Get to the heart of aristocratic London, exploring the quiet corners & higgledy-piggledy streets of St James’ & its Tudor palace - where the King was proclaimed monarch.

On Changing of the Guard mornings, witness the inspection of the Old Guard at St James before following the band to Buckingham Palace. Stroll to Wellington Arch & hop onto an iconic red bus for a short ride to the Royal Albert Hall.

Step into beautiful Kensington Gardens & hear of a 1000 years of history, See Princess Diana's Statue & stroll through manicured parkland to the 300 year old Tea Room established by Queen Anne. Enjoy a full Afternoon Tea of delicious sandwiches, scones & cakes with a selection of teas. Dietary preferences are catered for, & a children's tea provided for youngsters.

Tour options

The operator sells this tour in 5 versions. Prices are the operator's current list for two travellers; the calendar shows the exact figure for your date and party.

Tour & Tea -no Entry to Palace

from €158 / person (for 2+ people)
Guide: English

Tour & Tea with Bubbles

from €172 / person
Guide: English

Glsss of Bubbles no Pal Entry

Tour & Tea with Ken Pal Ticket

from €200 / person
Guide: English

Palace Entry after Tea: This option is for the whole tour, afternoon tea & Entry to the Palace after tea. We recommend 90 min to see the State Rooms

Private Option - No Pal Entry

from €237 / person
Guide: English

With Private Guide: This option does not include entry to the Palace itself. This can be booked on the official website hrp.org.uk

Private Tour & Ken Pal Ticket

from €268 / person
Guide: English

Palace Entry After Tea: After Tea your ticket gives access to Kensington Palace state rooms for a self guided tour.

Schedule & Availability

Runs daily
Departures: 10:30, 11:30, 13:30
Available year-round

This tour runs daily, departing at 10:30, 11:30, 13:30. It runs year-round. These are the operator’s scheduled departures, not a live seat count: availability is confirmed at checkout. Schedule last checked October 1, 2026.

What's Included

Entrance to the State Rooms (if selected at check out)
Knowledgeable Guide and Royal history walk
The history of tea drinking in England
Small Group, maximum of 10, typically 4-6 guests
A Private Table at the Afternoon Tea Venue
Afternoon Tea of Sandwiches, Scones & Cakes. (NB: Child Tea is typically for 11 yrs & younger)

What's Not Included

Private Transport
No entrance to Palaces / Walking tour (unless selected at check out)
Bus fare - please bring a Contactless Card or Oyster Card
Alcoholic beverages: Can be purchased during the tea service

Itinerary

Green Park Stop 1
Formally known as Upper St James Park, Green Park is the starting point of the tour. We will head away from the crowds to discover quiet spots and discreet passageways that lead away from the regular tours.
10 min
St. James's Stop 2
St James is the main aristocratic quarter of London where the landed gentry and political classes mingled in chocolate houses and taverns that became prestigious clubs in the seventeenth century. You will stroll through little used back streets with their fascinating history
10 min
Spencer House Stop 3
at the end of the small street. Built between 1756-1766 for John, first Earl Spencer, an ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997) it is London’s finest surviving eighteenth-century town house.
5 min
The Mall Stop 4
St James Palace remains the official London royal palace and is not regularly open to visitors, but the public can attend Sunday services at the Chapel Royal and the Queen's Chapel.
5 min
Clarence House Stop 5
The house was built between 1825 and 1827 to a design by John Nash. It was commissioned by the Duke of Clarence, who in 1830 became King William IV of the United Kingdom (reigned 1830–1837). He lived there in preference to the adjacent St James's Palace, an ancient Tudor building which he found too cramped
5 min
St. James's Palace Stop 6
St James is the main aristocratic quarter of London where the landed gentry and political classes mingled in chocolate houses and taverns that became prestigious clubs in the seventeenth century. You will stroll through little used back streets with their fascinating history
5 min
Buckingham Palace Stop 7
In the Middle Ages, the site of the future palace formed part of the Manor of Ebury (also called Eia). The marshy ground was watered by the river Tyburn, which still flows below the courtyard and south wing of the palace. Where the river was fordable (at Cow Ford), the village of Eye Cross grew. Ownership of the site changed hands many times; owners included Edward the Confessor and his queen consort Edith of Wessex in late Saxon times, and, after the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror. William gave the site to Geoffrey de Mandeville, who bequeathed it to the monks of Westminster Abbey.
5 min
Wellington Arch Stop 8
Cross to the Wellington Arch (Decimus Burton) 1828. 4 horse chariot with a figure of peace (1912) Central Passage was reserved for royalty.
5 min
Bomber Command Memorial Stop 9
The Royal Air Force Bomber Command Memorial is a memorial commemorating the crews of RAF Bomber Command who embarked on missions during the Second World War. The memorial, on the south side of Piccadilly, facing Hyde Park Corner, was built to mark the sacrifice of 55,573 aircrew from Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Czechoslovakia, Poland and other allied countries, as well as civilians of all nations killed during raids.
5 min
The house was originally built in red brick by Robert Adam between 1771 and 1... Stop 10
The house was originally built in red brick by Robert Adam between 1771 and 1778 for Lord Apsley, the Lord Chancellor, who gave the house its name. Some Adam interiors survive: the Piccadilly Drawing Room with its apsidal end and Adam fireplace, and the Portico Room, behind the giant Corinthian portico added by Wellington.
5 min
Royal Albert Hall Stop 11
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage.
5 min
Albert Memorial Stop 12
The Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens is one of London's most ornate monuments. It commemorates the death of Prince Albert, who died of typhoid in 1861.
5 min
Kensington Palace Stop 13
George II was blind in one eye and hard of hearing. In Kensington Palace, 25 October, 1760 he rose as usual at 6:00 am, drank a cup of hot chocolate, and went to his close stool alone. After a few minutes, his valet heard a loud crash and entered the room to find the king on the floor. The king was lifted into his bed, and Princess Amelia was sent for; before she reached him, he was dead. At the age of nearly 77 he had lived longer than any of his English or British predecessors. A post-mortem revealed that the king had died as the result of a thoracic aortic dissection. He was succeeded by his grandson George III, and buried on 11 November in Westminster Abbey. He left instructions for the sides of his and his wife's coffins to be removed so that their remains could mingle. He is the most recent monarch to be buried in Westminster Abbey.
5 min

Departure & Return

Start point

We are meeting at the Park Gate between Ritz Hotel and the Station Entrance where the Black Gates are. Under the porch of Green Park Station Street Level. Nearest Underground: Green Park

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End point

We will end the tour at the Orangery where we are hosting the High Tea.

Additional Information

  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
  • Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • We offer Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Vegan & Halal on prior request
  • Not suitable for those with walking difficulty, we walk for about 60 mins

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

1+ daysFull refund
0-1 daysNo refund

Compared with other Westminster & Royal London

TourPriceDurationRatingGroup
This tour · #9 of 41€1582h 30m4.95 (105)shared
Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace Experience€342h4.99 (805)shared
Changing of the Guard Walking Tour€182h4.95 (899)shared
Changing of the Guard Walking Tour in London at Buckingham Palace€172h4.92 (1099)shared

Ranked #9 of 41 in Westminster & Royal London by Guidekin score (rating weighted by review volume). Prices here run from €17 to €562, median €101; typical length 3h. 5 of 41 are private. Figures are live from the tour cards; the rubric is our handpicked set, not the whole market. Compare all 41 Westminster & Royal London

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