Tourists baffled by AI Buckingham Palace Christmas market

Buckingham Palace in London, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Brygida, a Polish woman who recently moved to London, headed to Buckingham Palace on Friday after seeing online posts of a traditional Christmas market outside the gates with wooden stalls and twinkling lights.

But when she got there, there was no sign of a market outside the royal residence, and she realized the fake images were generated using artificial intelligence.

Wrapped in a white faux-fur coat on a crisp cold day, Brygida, a 25-year-old bankworker, told AFP that “we went there thinking it was real”.

“I thought I would see it for the first time in history. I thought I was lucky, but, yeah, we were really sad when we saw that there isn’t anything like that.”

Several content creators posted AI-generated images of the non-existent Christmas market, promising “a royal Christmas experience like never before”.

The posts circulated widely, appearing online in languages including Thai, Portuguese, Arabic and Armenian.

Other visitors outside the palace had also been taken in.

“I’ve seen it on TikTok and Instagram reels, that there was going to be a Christmas market for the first time ever here at Buckingham Palace,” said Emma Paxton, a 26-year-old chemical engineer from Boston.

“It looked pretty real,” Paxton said, but she realized it was fake days before arriving on holiday.

Lucas, a Frenchman living in London, told AFP he had “heard a lot” about a market “next to the actual palace” from friends living abroad.

“I just found out now with you that it’s actually AI-based,” said Lucas, who declined to give his full name, adding he felt “a bit of frustration”.

Several bloggers posted videos debunking the claim including Love and London travel blog, which pointed out that in the AI images, the market appears to be in an area closed to the public and the festive lights appear to hang from the sky.

London has several genuine Christmas markets, including one on Trafalgar Square.

The AI market images first appeared in September, after the Royal Collection Trust (RCT), which organizes visits to the palace, posted an announcement about a small pop-up Christmas shop.

The RCT responded to fake posts on its website, saying the shop is “not a Christmas market” and “there will not be a Christmas market at Buckingham Palace”.

The palace on Friday had the usual area fenced-off outside and crowds of tourists.

Signs gave directions to the Royal Mews Christmas Shop, which sells souvenirs such as chocolates and tea tins with royal branding.

Staff there acknowledged they were aware of the AI posts but declined to comment further.