Workers restoring Buckingham Palace have uncovered a collection of everyday artefacts beneath its floorboards, including Football Pools betting slips dating back to 1957, an empty cigarette packet, and a theatre listings cutting from a newspaper nearly 140 years old. The discoveries, made during the ongoing £370 million reservicing programme, provide a rare glimpse into the lives of royal staff and guests over the past century.
Forgotten items surface during decade-long refurbishment
Among the forgotten treasures were a social club ticket from the Royal household dating back almost 80 years, a detailed set of instructions for staging a grand royal reception, and a worn pair of black hobnail boots. These items had lain undisturbed for decades, preserved within the fabric of the Palace, before being brought to light during the renovation works, which began in 2017 and are due for completion next year.
The historic residence has been undergoing the £370 million reservicing programme over the past decade, encompassing electrical rewiring, plumbing and heating upgrades, and a comprehensive overhaul of the building's infrastructure to safeguard against long-term deterioration. Approximately 2km of Vulcanised Indian Rubber (VIR) cabling has been replaced to date—equivalent to the combined length of 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The cabling, which grows brittle over time, was prioritised for removal as it represented the most significant fire hazard to the building.
1957 betting slips and a 1949 Whist Drive ticket
The discoveries include blank Littlewoods Football Pool betting slips from 70 years ago, a Silk Cut cigarette packet, and a fragment of theatre listings from The Standard newspaper, dated 1889. A small, once-white Whist Drive ticket, priced at 6d (a sixpence) and dated April 14 1949, during the reign of the King's grandfather, George VI, was discovered embedded within a lump of building rock.
The pass to the staff social club event held at the Palace, where attendees would have participated in progressive rounds of the classic trick-taking card game, reads "Royal Household Social Club – Buckingham Palace : A Whist Drive to be held on" followed by the faded, stamped date "14 APR 1949". During April 1949, Queen Elizabeth II remained Princess Elizabeth, having been wed to Prince Philip for fewer than 18 months, while their eldest son, the now-King, then prince Charles, was a mere five months old.
Royal reception instructions from 1977 revealed
Perhaps most intriguingly, a meticulously typed schedule was found detailing the precise timings and directions for Queen Elizabeth II's hosting of a diplomatic reception during her Silver Jubilee year of 1977, which notably revealed that the late monarch would work the room in a "clockwise direction". The document, reported by the Mirror, instructed staff to prompt the 350 British attendees to interact with the diplomats at the prestigious annual event, where the attire requirements would have specified white tie and decorations or national dress, with the royal women adorning tiaras.
"The British guests will be distributed throughout the State Rooms, except the Music Room and West Gallery, where they should be encouraged to talk to the Diplomats," the manually typed document stated. It continued: "In the Ball Room, Her Majesty and other Members of the Royal Family will move round the room in a clockwise direction".
The document also cautioned that smoking was prohibited in certain state rooms, with the reception adhering to a rigid schedule, noting: "Drinks will be served to guests in the Blue Drawing Room, State Dining Room and West Gallery between 9.30 and 10.00pm. Guests allotted to the Ball Room will be served drinks in the Ball Room Annexe from 9.30pm until approximately 10.15pm. Smoking will not be permitted in any of these rooms."
Newspaper clippings and other finds
Also unearthed were pages from the Daily Express newspaper dated 1966 detailing the "maximum security" facility housing the Great Train Robbers, featuring photographs of Durham Prison's interior and disclosing that "the men who were found guilty of stealing a fortune in mailbags spend their week stitching them for nine shillings". Among the other discoveries were a section of Minton decorative ceramic tiles from a fireplace hearth, dating back to approximately the mid-1800s, an aged pewter tankard, a bottle of Schweppes Still Malvern English Spring Water, a wooden junction box, and a faded box containing six Christmas cards.
The mislaid items, discovered beneath floorboards and in other areas of the royal residence during renovation works, provide a fascinating insight into the lives of those who worked and resided behind the scenes at the monarchy's headquarters. The reservicing programme, which has been ongoing since 2017, is slated for completion next year, marking the end of a decade-long effort to secure the Palace's infrastructure for the future.
