King Charles signs off on palace gates repaint after tourist damage

King Charles has approved a makeover for the gates of Buckingham Palace as tourists wear them down while taking photos.

According to GB News, the monarch is moving to refresh the iconic gates of Palace after years of tourists leaning on them for photos have worn away the paint.

Planning documents show the Royal Household wants the gates and surrounding railings repainted to protect them from ongoing wear and tear while improving the palace’s appearance.

"They form an important part of the overall impression of the front of the Palace to the general public, visitors and guests, and to the Royal Family for whom the Fore Court is in regular use,” the docs read.

The gates will be repainted in bronze green, a colour identified as historically accurate and closely linked to royal tradition, per archival research.

As per planning representatives, the repainting will "enhance the appearance of both the metalwork and stonework and in turn improve the overall appearance of these highly significant front and side elevations of the Palace in its setting.”

"Works would be carried out in situ and would therefore be less intrusive to the fabric, avoiding the need to cut through existing ironwork to enable its removal."

Speaking on the matter, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told The Telegraph, "King Charles has taken the opportunity to change the colour of the Buckingham Palace railings and gates from black to bronze green.”

“These are the most photographed royal gates in the world,” they added. “It links them with the mystique of monarchy, as it is a grounding colour with links to tradition and to land and also pays tribute to his father, Prince Philip.

"He founded the Duke of Edinburgh Award, the first level of competition is bronze and the badge is coloured green. The DoE Award is now the King's Award, so the colour now has direct links with the monarch.

"Prince Philip designed the Land Rover Defender, which was used as his funeral hearse and which was repainted dark bronze green, the colour of camouflage, to reflect his many links with the military. Bronze green is also linked to causes close to King Charles's heart as an environmental campaigner.

"It is associated with maturity and evokes the timeless traditional values which he espouses in architecture and handicrafts. It is also a colour which is identified with quiet authority."