The royal family has given fans a rare glimpse inside the £369 million (A$715 million) refurbishment at Buckingham Palace.
The post on Instagram features a two-minute video revealing the painstaking work involved in removing the 19th century wallpaper in the Yellow Drawing room.
WATCH: Rare look inside $715 million Buckingham Palace renovation
After being treated by conservationists, the historic wallpaper will be rehung in the reception room at the front of the palace.
The renovation is its biggest refurbishment since before the Second World War, and involves replacing 161km of electrical cabling, 6500 plug sockets, 5000 light fittings, 32km of heating pipework and 2500 radiators.
According to the palace: “The Reservicing programme is vital in order to mitigate the risk of fire and flood and will ensure that old wiring is brought in line with current health and safety standards. The refurbishment will also improve visitor access and make the Palace more energy efficient.”
The Yellow Drawing room was designed by Edward Blore in 1840 and was intended to provide more entertaining and living space for Queen Victoria and her family.
In the video, wallpaper conservator Allyson McDermott explained: “We are removing the beautiful wallpaper, 19th century Chinese wallpaper, piece by piece.
“We will then take it back to our studios to conserve it and preserve it for the future.
“This is the perfect time. The paper is in desperate need of conservation.
“It is very acidic, very fragile. It is a wonderful opportunity to do it while all of the work is being carried out around the palace.”
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