Buckingham Palace discovers decades-old secrets amid renovations

It appears not all secrets can remain hidden as a trove of items dating back to almost two centuries are uncovered at Buckingham Palace.

King Charles and Queen Camilla, who have decided not to live at the Monarchy HQ after the renovations are completed next year, reside in Clarence House, which stands beside St James's Palace and was once the Queen Mother's home.

Amid the decade-long £370million refurbishment programme, workers discovered an unexpected trove of lost objects, hidden for decades beneath floorboards and within the building’s fabric.

According to reports, the misplaced items are believed to be of the staffers who worked at the Palace decades ago as most of the items a range of everyday objects as far as mid-1800s.

Amid the betting slips, newspaper clippings, glass soda bottles and an empty Silk Cut cigarette carton, there was a newspaper article about the gang jailed for the 1963 Great Train Robbery found under floorboards. There was also a ticket for a “whist drive” - a card game event hosted by the palace on 14 April 1949.

An old typed schedule for Queen Elizabeth II was also unearthed in which it described how the monarch would move in “clockwork direction” during the diplomatic reception during her 1977 Silver Jubilee year.

It revealed how the royal aides were given precise instructions for such major events.

Another interesting item had been the pages from the Daily Express in 1966 about the report on “maximum security” prison holding the Great Train Robbers who stole “a fortune in mailbags spend their week stitching them for nine shillings”.