How does the thought of taking a VR tour of Buckingham Palace from the comfort of your living room sound? Intriguing, right? Now, thanks to Google’s virtual reality tour you can indulge in royalty and enjoy the grandiose that comes with it.
Make no mistake about it; this virtual reality tour is like no other as it allows you to get right into the heart of the Royal Family’s London residence and enjoy 360-degree views while you’re at it. In the tour, you can stand at the bottom of the staircase, check into the state rooms or enjoy the magnificent sights of the Green and White drawing rooms not to mention the ballroom where inaugurations are held.
Ostentatious pieces of art are also on exhibition in the picture gallery at the Old Masters including the Canaletto. You can even turn these masterpieces to have a glimpse of the paintwork at the back, all with the help of a virtual tour guide.
Google, the brains behind this virtual reality tour used a remarkable sixteen cameras in a circle to capture the spectacular images. The project wouldn’t have been a success were it not for the handy partnership with the Royal Collection Trust. Jemina Rellie, who works for the trust, says that the Buckingham Palace is not only one of the most iconic, majestic buildings on the planet but also extremely popular with school going children. As a matter of fact, when the search engine giant asked children to suggest the virtual expeditions they would like to take, the mentioned the Buckingham Palace and the White House as well as the outer space.
Rellie says “we are terrifically excited that, thanks to the virtual reality potential of Google Expedition, children, their teachers, and families can visit the palace wherever they live.”
Schools and pupils who want to take a VR tour of Buckingham Palace can do so by sending online applications to Google’s Expedition Initiative, which loans the necessary equipment and support. Alternatively, they can use the recently launched Open Beta project that allows downloading of the Expedition app for free and use tablets and goggles to take the tour. Members of the public can take the tour by logging on to the British Monarchy YouTube Channel using their smartphones.
What does the Queen have to say about this initiative? Isn’t she concerned about the wandering eyes inside her home? Well, the 89-year-old queen is tech savvy, owns an iPad and, you guessed it, approves the VR tour of Buckingham Palace, so enjoy it while you can!