The King has been forced to repaint the gates to Buckingham Palace after tourists gathering at the iconic building have rubbed the paint off.
A planning application was lodged earlier this year to spruce up the gates, which are seen by thousands who take a trip to see the palace every year.
Documents seen by The Mail say the gates are in an area of ‘extremely high foot traffic’ and are therefore ‘highly vulnerable to wear and tear from contact by members of the public’.
The gates date back to the early 1900s and were requested by King George V ahead of his coronation.
The gates feature the Royal Coat of Arms, which includes three lions symbolising England, a rampant lion for Scotland and a harp for Ireland.
Royal officials said the gates ‘form an important part of the overall impression of the Palace’ for visitors, guests, the general public, as well as the Royal Family themselves.
Research into the history of the Palace revealed that the gates were initially a dark green known as bronze green, however in the 1930s they were painted black.
Now officials want to ‘bring back the historic Bronze Green colour’ to the metalwork in front of the palace, to improve the appearance of the ‘highly significant’ area in front of the Palace.
As part of the plans the gates and the railings in the Fore Court of the Palace will undergo paint removal and then repairs before redecoration.
General cleaning and repairs to stone piers and plinths will also take place at the same time.
Officials added that the work would be carried out ‘in situ’, which would be less intrusive to the fabric and avoiding the need to cut through existing ironwork.
The decision to repaint the gates bronze green has come from paint analysis and historical research by the Royal Household.
The colour has been associated with Prince Philip and was used for the private cars and Land Rover hearse which carried the coffin at his funeral.
Queen Elizabeth, Camilla and Prince Anne, also wore shades of green at a 2022 memorial service honouring his life.
Historic paint specialist Patrick Baty decided the colour would be the most appropriate for the redecoration of the gates.
Officials said the new finish will ‘reinstate the historically appropriate appearance of the metalwork while providing long-term protection and visual coherence within the setting’.
In 2024, the Palace gates were damaged after a man ploughed his car into the main entrance of the royal residence.
Johnny Scott, 26, drove his VW Polo into the south centre gate of the royal residence on March 9 last year, with repair works costing £24,493.
No members of the royal family were at the palace when the collision happened, a palace spokesman said at the time.
A judge warned him that he was ‘very lucky’ not to be shot by Palace security.
