ARGUMENT

Britain is strewn with ruins of castles, rubble from the centuries of her existence. Castles are
tangible relics of a remarkable past, a lengthy heritage etched in stone, as well as with the blood and
sweat of those who built, labored, fought, and died in their shadow. Castles have a timelessness that is
awe-inspiring. That they have endured centuries of warfare and the effects of weather is a testimony to
the creativity and power of their medieval owners. Most of the fortifications that we consider as 'proper'
castles were built during the Middle Ages.
I've been impressed by the Buckingham Palace who is the Queen's official and main royal
London home. It has been the official London residence of Britain's monarchy since 1837. Queen
Victoria was the first monarch to live there. Buckingham Palace is used also for the administrative
work for the monarchy. It is here in the state apartments that Her Majesty receives and entertains guests
invited to the Palace. Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. The
palace is a setting for state occasions and royal entertaining, and a major tourist attraction. It has been a
rallying point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and crisis. Originally known as
Buckingham House, the building forming the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the
Duke of Buckingham in 1703 and acquired by George III in 1761as a private residence, known as "The
Queen's House".
It was enlarged over the next 75 years, principally by architects John Nash and Edward Blore,
forming three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace finally became the official royal
palace of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. The last major structural
additions were made in the late 19th and early 20th century, including the present-day public face of
Buckingham Palace. The building is occasionally still referred to as "Buck House".The original early
19th-century interior designs, many of which still survive, included widespread use of brightly
coloured scagliola and blue and pink lapis, on the advice of Sir Charles Long. King Edward VII
oversaw a partial redecoration in a Belle epoque cream and gold colour scheme.
Many smaller reception rooms are furnished in the Chinese regency style with furniture and
fittings brought from the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and from Carlton House following the death of
King George IV. The Buckingham Palace Garden is the largest private garden in London, originally
landscaped by Capability Brown, but redesigned by William Townsend Aiton of Kew Gardens and
John Nash.
 The artificial lake was completed in 1828 and is supplied with water from the Serpentine, a lake
in Hyde Park. The state rooms form the nucleus of the working Palace and are used regularly by Queen
Elizabeth II and members of the royal family for official and state entertaining.
Buckingham Pa 13313v2119n lace is one of the world's most familiar buildings and more than
50,000 people visit the palace each year as guests to banquets, lunches, dinners, receptions and the
royal garden parties. I have chosen Buckingham Palace to be the subject of my English Certificate is
like a tribute to everything they meant and still means to me and all the people who found a role model
in them.
The City of Westminster is the home of Buckingham Palace, which has been the official
London-based home of the monarch since 1837, although it is owned by the state. Today, it is the
administrative headquarters of the Monarch and is also used for state occasions and whenever the need
arises to display traditional royal hospitality.
While there is no secret underground Tube station as many believe, the Palace does have secret
tunnels that connect it to Clarence House and the House of Parliament.
 CHAPTER I
THE HISTORY OF BUCKINGHAM PALACE

Buckingham Palace is only one of the more than 15 royal residences throughout the United
Kingdom and has been the official home of the monarchy since 1837, making it much more than just a
home to Queen Elizabeth and members of her family. With a long history also comes a lot of upkeep.
the Middle Ages, Buckingham Palace's site formed part of the Manor of Ebury (also called Eia). The
marshy ground was watered by the river Tyburn, which still flows below the courtyard and south wing
of the palace. Where the river was fordable - Cow Ford - a village, Eye Cross, grew up. Ownership of
the site changed hands many times; owners included Edward the Confessor and his queen consort Edith
of Wessex in late Saxon times, and, after the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror. William gave
the site to Geoffrey de Mandeville, who bequeathed it to the monks of Westminster Abbey.
In 1531 Henry VIII acquired the Hospital of St James (later St. James's Palace) from Eton College, and
in 1536 he took the Manor of Ebury from Westminster Abbey. These transfers brought the site of
Buckingham Palace back into royal hands for the first time since William the Conqueror had given it
away almost 500 years earlier.
Various owners leased it from royal landlords and the freehold was the subject of frenzied
speculation in the 17th century. By then, the old village of Eye Cross had long since fallen into decay,
and the area was mostly wasteland. Needing money, James I sold off part of the Crown freehold but
retained part of the site on which he established a four-acre mulberry garden for the production of silk.
(This is at the northwest corner of today's palace.) Clement Walker in Anarchia Anglicana (1649) refers
to "new-erected sodoms and spintries at the Mulberry Garden at S. James's"; this suggests it may have
been a place of debauchery. Eventually, in the late 17th century, the freehold was inherited from the
property tycoon Sir Hugh Audley by the great heiress Mary Davies.
1.1. First Houses On the Site
Possibly the first house erected within the site was that of a Sir William Blake, around 1624.
The next owner was Lord Goring, who from 1633 extended Blake's house and developed much of
today's garden, then known as Goring Great Garden. He did not, however, manage to obtain freehold
interest in the mulberry garden. Unbeknown to Goring, in 1640 the document "failed to pass the Great
Seal before King Charles I fled London, which it needed to do for legal execution". (It was this critical
omission that helped the British royal family regain the freehold under King George III.)

The improvident Goring defaulted on his rents; Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington obtained the
mansion and was occupying it, now known as Goring House, when it burnt down in 1674. Arlington
House rose on the site - the southern wing of today's palace- the next year, and its freehold was bought
in 1702.
The house which forms the architectural core of the present palace was built for the first Duke
of Buckingham and Norman by in 1703 to the design of William Winde. The style chosen was of a
large, three-floored central block with two smaller flanking service wings.
 Buckingham House was eventually sold by Buckingham's descendant, Sir Charles Sheffield, in
1761 to George III for £21,000. (Like his grandfather, George II, George III refused to sell the mulberry
garden interest, so that Sheffield had been unable to purchase the full freehold of the site.) The house
was originally intended as a private retreat for the royal family, and in particular for Queen Charlotte,
and was known as The Queen's House. St. James's Palace remained the official and ceremonial royal
residence; indeed, the tradition continues to the present time of foreign ambassadors being formally
accredited to "the Court of St. James's", even though it is at Buckingham Palace that they present their
credentials and staff to the Queen upon their appointment.

1.2. The Garden, the Royal Mews and the Mall

At the back of the palace, large and park-like, is

Buckingham Palace Garden. The Garden Front of the palace, by
Nash, is of pale golden Bath stone. The garden, which includes a
lake, is the largest private garden in London.
Here the Queen hosts her annual garden parties each summer, but
since June 2002, she has invited the public into the Garden on
numerous occasions.
 Adjacent to the palace is the Royal Mews, also designed by Nash,
where the royal carriages, including the Gold State Coach, are
housed. This rococo gilt coach, designed by Sir William Chambers
in 1760, has painted panels by G. B. Cipriani. It was first used for
the State Opening of Parliament by George III in 1762 and is used
by the monarch only for coronations or jubilee celebrations.
Also housed in the Mews are the carriage horses used in royal
ceremonial processions. The Mall, a ceremonial approach route to
the palace, was designed by Sir Aston Webb and completed in 1911
as part of a grand memorial to Queen Victoria. It extends from
Admiralty Arch, up around the Victoria Memorial to the palace
forecourt. This route is used by the cavalcades and motorcades of all
visiting heads of state, and by the Royal Family on state occasions
such as the annual State Opening of Parliament as well as Trooping the Colour each year. The west
facade of Buckingham Palace seen from the Palace Gardens.
 CHAPTER II
HOME OF THE MONARCH
Buckingham Palace finally became the principal Royal residence in 1837 on the accession of
Queen Victoria. While the state rooms were a riot of gilt and colour, the necessities of the new palace
were somewhat less luxurious. For one thing, it was reported the chimneys smoked so much that the
fires had to be allowed to die down, and consequently the court shivered in icy magnificence.
Ventilation was so bad that the interior smelled, and when a decision was taken to install gas lamps
there was a serious worry about the build-up of gas on the lower floors. It was also said that the staff
were lax and lazy and the palace was dirty. Following the Queen's marriage in 1840, her husband,
Prince Albert, concerned himself with a reorganization of the household offices and staff, and with the
design faults of the palace. The problems were all rectified by the close of 1840. However, the builders
were to return within the decade.

By 1847, the couple had found the palace too small for Court life and their growing family and
consequently the new wing, designed by Edward Blore, was built by Thomas Cubitt, enclosing the
central quadrangle. The large East Front facing The Mall is today the 'public face' of Buckingham
Palace and contains the balcony from which the Royal Family acknowledge the crowds on momentous
occasions and annually following Trooping the Colour.
 The ballroom wing and a further suite of state rooms were also built in this period, designed by
Nash's student Sir James Pennethorne.
Before Prince Albert's demise, Queen Victoria was known to openly love music and dancing
and the greatest contemporary musicians entertained at Buckingham Palace. Felix Mendelssohn is
known to have played there on three occasions. Johann Strauss II and his orchestra played there when
in England. Strauss's 'Alice Polka' was first performed at the palace in 1849 in honour of the Queen's
daughter, Princess Alice. Under Victoria, Buckingham Palace was frequently the scene of lavish
costume balls, in addition to the routine royal ceremonies, investitures and presentations.

When widowed in 1861, the grief-stricken Queen withdrew from public life and left
Buckingham Palace to live at Windsor Castle, Balmoral Castle, and Osborne House. For many years
the palace was seldom used, and even neglected. Eventually public opinion forced her to return to
London, though even then she preferred to live elsewhere whenever possible. Court functions were still
held at Windsor Castle rather than at the palace, presided over by the sombre Queen habitually dressed
in mourning black while Buckingham Palace remained shuttered for most of the year.

2.1. The Interior

The palace contains 77,000 square metres of floor space (828,818 square feet). The principal
rooms of the palace are contained on the piano nobile behind the west-facing garden facade at the rear
of the palace. The centre of this ornate suite of state rooms is the Music Room, its large bow the
dominant feature of the facade. Flanking the Music Room are the Blue and the White Drawing rooms.
At the centre of the suite, serving as a corridor to link the state rooms, is the Picture Gallery, which is
top lit and 55 yards (50 m) long.
 The Gallery is hung with numerous works including some by Rembrandt, van Dyck Rubens,
and Vermeer, other rooms leading from the Picture Gallery are the Throne room and the Green
Drawing Room. The Green Drawing room serves as a huge anteroom to the Throne Room, and is part
of the ceremonial route to the throne from the Guard Room at the top of the Grand staircase. The Guard
Room contains white marble statues of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, in Roman costume set in a
tribune lined with tapestries. These very formal rooms are used only for
ceremonial and official entertaining, but are open to the public every
summer.

Prince Albert's music room, one of the smaller less formal rooms at the palace, in 1887.
Directly underneath the State Apartments is a suite of slightly less grand rooms known as the
semi-state apartments. Opening from the marble hall, these rooms are used for less-formal entertaining,
such as luncheon parties and private audiences. Some of the rooms are named and decorated for
particular visitors, such as the 1844 Room, which was decorated in that year for the State visit of
Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, and, the other side of the Bow Room, the 1855 Room. At the centre of
this suite is the Bow Room, through which thousands of guests pass annually to the Queen's Garden
Parties in the Gardens beyond. The Queen uses privately a smaller suite of rooms in the North wing.
Between 1847 and 1850, when Blore was building the new east wing, the Brighton Pavilion was once
again plundered of its fittings. As a result many of the rooms in the new wing have a distinctly oriental
atmosphere. The red and blue Chinese Luncheon Room is made up from parts of the Brighton
banqueting and music rooms, but has a chimney piece, also from Brighton, in design more Indian than
Chinese. The Yellow Drawing Room has 18th century wall paper, which was supplied in 1817 for the
Brighton Saloon, and the chimney piece in this room is a European vision of what the Chinese
equivalent would look like, complete with nodding mandarins in niches and fearsome winged dragons.
 At the centre of this wing is the famous balcony, with the Centre Room behind its glass doors.
This is a Chinese-style saloon enhanced by Queen Mary who working with the designer Sir Charles
Allom created a more "binding".Chinese theme in the late 1920s, although the lacquer doors were
brought from Brighton in 1873. Running the length of the piano nobile of the east wing is the great
gallery, modestly known as the Principal Corridor which runs the length of the eastern side of the
quadrangle. It has mirrored doors, and mirrored cross walls reflecting porcelain pagodas and other
oriental furniture from Brighton. The Chinese Luncheon Room and Yellow Drawing Room are situated
at each end of this gallery, with the Centre Room obviously placed in the centre.
Visiting heads of state today, when staying at the palace, occupy a suite of rooms known as the
Belgian suite, which is on the ground floor of the North-facing garden front. These rooms, with
corridors enhanced by saucer domes, were first decorated for Prince Albert's uncle Léopold I, first King
of the Belgians. Edward VIII lived in these rooms during his short reign.

2.2. Court ceremonies

During the current reign court ceremony has undergone a radical change, and entry to the palace
is no longer the prerogative of just the upper class.
There has been a progressive relaxation of the dress code governing formal court uniform and dress. In
previous reigns, men not wearing military uniform wore knee breeches of an 18th-century design.
Women's evening dress included obligatory trains and tiaras and/or feathers in their hair.
 After World War I, when Queen Mary wished to follow fashion by raising her skirts a few
inches from the ground, she requested a Lady-in-Waiting to shorten her own skirt first to gauge the
King's reaction. King George V was horrified and Queen Mary's hemline remained unfashionably low.
Subsequently, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth allowed daytime skirts to rise.
Today there is no official dress code. Most men invited to Buckingham Palace in the daytime
choose to wear service uniform or morning coats, and in the evening, depending on the formality of the
occasion, black tie or white tie. If the occasion is 'white tie' then women, if they possess one, wear a
tiara.
One of the first major changes was in 1958 when the Queen abolished the presentation parties
for debutantes. These court presentations of aristocratic girls to the monarch took place in the Throne
room. Debutantes wore full court dress, with three tall ostrich feathers in their hair. They entered,
curtsied, performed a choreographed backwards walk and a further curtsey, while manoeuvring a dress
train of prescribed length. The ceremony corresponded to the "court drawing rooms" of earlier reigns,
and Queen Elizabeth II replaced the presentations with large and frequent palace garden parties for an
invited cross-section of British society. The late Princess Margaret is reputed to have remarked of the
debutante presentations: "We had to put a stop to it, every tart in London was getting in".Today, the
Throne Room is used for the reception of formal addresses such as those given to the Queen on her
Jubilees. It is here on the throne dais that royal wedding portraits and family photographs are taken.

Investitures, which include the conferring of knighthoods by dubbing with a sword, and other
awards take place in the palace's Victorian Ballroom, built in 1854. At 123 ft (37m) by 60 ft (37 m by
20 m), this is the largest room in the palace. It has replaced the Throne room in importance and use.
During investitures the Queen stands on the throne dais beneath a giant, domed velvet canopy, known
as a shamiana or a baldachin, used at the coronation Durbar in Delhi in 1911. A military band plays in
the musicians' gallery, as the recipients of awards approach the Queen and receive their honours,
watched by their families and friends.
 State banquets also take place in the Ballroom. These formal dinners take place on the first
evening of a state visit by a visiting Head of State. On these occasions, often over 150 guests in formal
"white tie and decorations" including tiaras for women, dine off gold plate. The largest and most formal
reception at Buckingham Palace takes place every November, when the Queen entertains members of
the foreign diplomatic corps resident in London. On this occasion all the state rooms are in use, as the
Royal Family proceed through them beginning their procession through the great north doors of the
Picture Gallery. As Nash had envisaged, all the large, double-mirrored doors stand open, reflecting the
numerous crystal chandeliers and sconces, causing a deliberate optical illusion of space and light.

Smaller ceremonies such as the reception of new ambassadors take place in the '1844 Room'.
Here too the Queen holds small lunch parties, and often meetings of the Privy Council. Larger lunch
parties often take place in the curved and domed Music Room, or the State Dining Room. On all formal
occasions the ceremonies are attended by the Yeomen of the Guard in their historic uniforms, and other
officers of the court such as the Lord Chamberlain.

Since the bombing of the palace chapel in World War II, royal christenings have sometimes
taken place in the Music Room. The Queen's first three children were all baptised here in a special gold
font. Prince William was christened in the Music Room; however, his brother, Prince Harry, was
christened at St George's Chapel, Windsor.
 The largest functions of the year are the Queen's Garden Parties for up to 8,000 invitees, taking
tea and sandwiches in marquees erected in the Garden. As a military band plays the National Anthem,
the Queen emerges from the Bow Room and slowly walks through the assembled guests towards her
private tea tent, greeting those previously selected for the honour. Those guests who do not actually
have the opportunity to meet the Queen at least have the consolation of being able to admire the
Garden.

2.3. Modern history

In 1901 the accession of Edward VII saw new life breathed into the palace. The new King and
his wife Queen Alexandra had always been at the forefront of London high society, and their friends,
known as "the Marlborough House Set", were considered to be the most eminent and fashionable of the
age. Buckingham Palace-the Ballroom, Grand Entrance, Marble Hall, Grand Staircase, vestibules and
galleries redecorated in the Belle epoque cream and gold colour scheme they retain today-once again
became the focal point of the British Empire and a setting for entertaining on a majestic scale.
 Many people feel King Edward's heavy redecoration of the palace does not complement Nash's
original work. However, it has been allowed to remain for one hundred years.
The last major building work took place during the reign of King George V when, in 1913, Sir
Aston Webb redesigned Blore's 1850 East Front to resemble in part Giacomo Leoni's Lyme Park in
Cheshire. This new, refaced principal facade (of Portland stone) was designed to be the backdrop to the
Victoria Memorial, a large memorial statue of QueenVictoria, placed outside the main gates. George V,
who had succeeded Edward VII in 1910, had a more serious personality than his father; greater
emphasis was now placed on official entertaining and royal duties than on lavish parties. George V's
wife Queen Mary was a connoisseur of the arts, and took a keen interest in the royal collection of
furniture and art, both restoring and adding to it.
Queen Mary also had many new fixtures and fittings installed, such as the pair of marble
Empire-style chimney pieces by Benjamin Vulliamy, dating from 1810, which the Queen had installed
in the ground floor Bow Room, the huge low room at the centre of the garden facade. Queen Mary was
also responsible for the decoration of the Blue Drawing Room. This room, 69 feet (21 m) long,
previously known as the South Drawing Room, has one of Nash's finest ceilings, coffered with huge
gilt console brackets.

The Victoria Memorial was created by sculptor Sir Thomas Brock in 1911 and erected in front
of the main gates at Buckingham Palace on a surround constructed by architect Sir Aston Webb.
A 1999 book published by the Royal Collection Department reported that the palace contained
19 state rooms, 52 principal bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms. While this
may seem large, it is small when compared to the Russian imperial palaces in St. Petersburg and at
Tsarskoe Selo, the Papal Palace in Rome, the Royal Palace of Madrid, or indeed the former Palace of
Whitehall, and tiny compared to the Forbidden City and Potala Palace.
The relative smallness of the palace may be best appreciated from within, looking out over the inner
quadrangle. A minor extension was made in 1938, in which the north-west pavilion, designed by Nash,
was converted into a swimming pool.
During World War I the palace, then the home of King George V and Queen Mary, escaped
unscathed. Its more valuable contents were evacuated to Windsor but the Royal family remained in
situ. The largest change to court life at this time was that the Government persuaded the King to
ostentatiously and publicly lock the wine cellars and refrain from alcohol for the duration of the war, to
set a good example to the supposedly inebriated lower classes. The lower classes continued to imbibe
and the King was left reputedly furious at his enforced abstinence. The King's children were
photographed at this time serving tea to wounded officers in the adjacent Royal Mews.
During World War II, the palace fared worse: it was bombed no less than seven times, and was a
deliberate target, as it was thought by the Nazis that the destruction of Buckingham Palace would
demoralise the nation. The most serious and publicised bombing was the destruction of the palace
chapel in 1940: coverage of this event was played in cinemas all over England to show the common
suffering of rich and poor. One bomb fell in the palace quadrangle while King George VI and Queen
Elizabeth were in residence, and many windows were blown in and the chapel destroyed.
War time coverage of such incidents was severely restricted, however, The King and Queen
were filmed inspecting their bombed home, the smiling Queen, as always, immaculately dressed in a
hat and matching coat seemingly unbothered by the damage around her. It was at this time the Queen
famously declared: "I'm glad we have been bombed. Now I can look the East End in the face". The
Royal family were seen as sharing their subjects' hardship, as The Sunday Graphic reported:
On September 15, 1940 an RAF pilot, Ray Holmes, rammed a German plane attempting to
bomb the palace. Holmes had run out of ammunition and made the quick choice to ram it. Both planes
crashed and their pilots survived. This incident was captured on film. The plane's engine was later
exhibited at the Imperial War Museum in London. Following the war the British pilot became a King's
Messenger. He died at the age of 90 in 2005.
On Wednesday-May 8, 1945-the palace was the centre of British celebrations, with the King,
Queen and the Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen, and Princess Margaret appearing on the balcony,
with the palace's blacked-out windows behind them, to the cheers from a vast crowd in the Mall.
On two occasions a man, Michael Fagan, was able to break into the palace.
2.4. 21st Century: Royal Use and Public Access
Today, Buckingham Palace is not only the weekday home of the Queen and Prince Philip but
also the London residence of the Duke of York and the Earl and Countess of Wessex. The palace also
houses the offices of the Royal Household and is the workplace of 450 people. Every year some 50,000
invited guests are entertained at garden parties, receptions, audiences, and banquets. The Garden
Parties, usually three, are held in the summer, usually in July.

The Forecourt of Buckingham Palace is used for Changing of the Guard, a major ceremony and
tourist attraction (daily during the summer months; every other day during the winter).
 The palace is technically the monarch's property; both Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace
and their art collections are held in trust for her successors and the nation. The furnishings, paintings,
fittings and other artefacts, some by Fabergé, from Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle are known
collectively as the Royal Collection; owned by the nation, they can be viewed by the public. The
Queen's Gallery near the Royal Mews is open all year and displays a changing selection of items from
the collection. The rooms containing the Queen's Gallery are on the site of the former chapel, which
was damaged by one of the seven bombs to fall on the palace during World War II. The palace's state
rooms have been open to the public during August and September since 1993. The money raised in
entry fees was originally put towards the rebuilding of Windsor Castle following the 1992 fire which
destroyed many of its state rooms
 CHAPTER III
FACTS ABOUT BUCKINGHAM PALACE
Buckingham Palace resides in the very heart of London, surrounded by the lavish St. James and Green
Park.

• Built as the Buckingham House in 1703, the palace was originally constructed by English
Gentleman and architect William Winde as a large townhouse for Duke Buckingham.

• In 1761, King George III bought the property as a private residence for Queen Charlotte,
earning it the title The Queen’s House.

• In the 19th century, the residence underwent renovations, adding three additional wings that
surround a central courtyard.

• In 1837, the palace became the London Residence of one of Britain’s most famous and longest
reigning monarchs, Queen Victoria.

• In 1982, Michael Fagan broke into the Royal Residence, entering Queen Elizabeth II’s very
own bedroom.

• Buckingham Palace features 775 rooms. Of these rooms, 188 are staff bedrooms, 92 offices, 78
bathrooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, and 19 state rooms.

• In total, the Buckingham palace grounds spans over 39 acres.

• Despite the palace serving as an important place for the royal family, the Queen does not in fact
privately own the residence. It is instead held in trust by the Crown Estates.

• Despite the Netflix series “The Crown” setting many scenes in the building, the actual palace
was never used by the cast. However, several scenes were filmed in iconic British buildings
such as Lancaster House, Ely Cathedral, and Eltham Palace to name a few!

• When the Queen is not in residence, typically around late July to late September, the beautiful
State Rooms at Buckingham palace are open to the public, attracting tourists from all over the
world!
• With dimensions of 36.6 m long, 18m wide, and 13.5 m high, the ballroom earns the award for
largest room at the iconic palace.

• The ceremony of the Changing of the Guard, also known as Guard Mounting, occurs just
outside of Buckingham Palace at 10:45 and typically lasts around 45 minutes. The actual
handover between guards occurs at 11 a.m.

• Due to the event’s widespread popularity, finding a proper viewing spot for the Changing of the
Guard can prove tricky. Join our Changing of the Guard walking tour which is included free
with 24hr, 48hr and 72hr bus tour tickets and we’ll ensure you get the best experience of this
historical ceremony.

• There are a staggering 760 windows and 1,514 doors at Buckingham Palace

• Esteemed architect John Nash transformed Buckingham House into the magnificent palace that
it is today. However, he went way over budget when reconstructing the building and was
promptly fired from the job.

• A child by the name of Edward Jones managed to break into the Palace three times, stealing
food from the kitchen, the Queen’s underwear, and even getting a chance to sit on the throne

• While Queen Elizabeth famously calls the palace her home, Princes Phillip, Andrew, and
Edward all reside there as well, along with a lot of the royal family’s staff members.

• Over the course of World War Two, Buckingham Palace survived 9 German Bombs attacks.

• Despite concerns for their own safety, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, later known as the
Queen Mother, refused to leave the palace during the onslaught of German bombings.

• When the Queen’s royal standard flag flies elegantly above the palace, the Queen is currently in
residence at the palace. When the Union Jack billows elegantly in the wind, this signals that the
Queen is elsewhere.

• A clockmaker works at the palace, maintaining over 350 clocks and watches. Ensuring that time
passes smoothly, two horological conservators wind the clocks up every week at the palace.

• The iconic red uniforms that the guards wear were chosen for two very practical reasons. At the
time the uniforms were created, red was one of the cheapest dyes to manufacture and thus saved
the royal family over the cost of clothing the guards. Concerning military strategy, red is the
 most difficult colour to distinguish from a distance. The enemy would thus experience difficulty
identifying how many British Soldiers they were about to fight.

• Military bands accompany the guards at the ceremony. They play both traditional military
music and a mix of popular music.

• The royal guards protecting the monarch can be broken down into five infantry regiments.
Identifying the placement of tunic buttons is the best way to distinguish between the groups of
soldiers.

• King Henry VII made the Royal Body Guard a permanent fixture of the royal family, lasting
well over 500 years!

• The first event ever to be held in the palace’s magnificent ballroom was a celebration to the end
of the Crimean War.

• Over 40,000 lightbulbs fill the entire palace. The ballroom bears the distinction of being the
first room to have electricity, installed in 1883.

• A series of secret tunnels run beneath Buckingham Palace. When the Queen Mother and King
George VI descended into the tunnels, they apparently met a man from Newcastle living in the
tunnels.

• Over one million people from all over the world attended the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.

• Not just any soldier can take a guard post. Only highly trained soldiers that have fought with
great distinction can qualify for the guard.

• Palace of Whitehall was the first location where the Changing of the Guard ceremony took
place.
• The guards that do serve the Monarchy all volunteer to do so, given that it is a prestigious
position and great honour to serve the monarchy so closely.

• Edward VII still remains the only monarch to both be born and pass away at Buckingham
Palace.

• Despite the introduction of mass media, notices concerning Royal births and deaths are still
posted outside of Buckingham Palace to keep the public informed!

• The palace garden is the largest private garden in all of London. It features a tennis court, lake,
and even a helicopter landing!

• When the palace is open to the public, tours of the state room can take around 2-2.5 hours,
lending tourists plenty of time to take in the palace’s beauty.

• Over 50,000 guests are invited to the palace each year. They are entertained at receptions,
garden parties, and banquets.

• The palace holds three official garden parties each summer, typically in July.

• The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace occupies the space wherein the palace’s chapel was
destroyed in a World War II air raid.

• In 1851, Queen Victoria made the first ever public appearance on the palace balcony. Little did
she know, she started an iconic tradition that continues to this day!

• King George V enforced rationing within the Palace during World War I. This even involved
locking the wine cellars and refraining from the consumption of alcohol.

• In 1938, the Royal Family converted the north-west pavilion into a swimming pool.

• With a Post-Office, pool, police station, cinema, health clinic, and so many more amenities,
Buckingham presents itself as more of a town than a palace!

• When a German bomb destroyed the Palace Chapel, footage of the destruction was played in
cinemas throughout the UK to reflect that both rich and poor suffered greatly during the war.

• Garden parties at the palace have been known to include up to 8,000 invitees!

• Investiture ceremonies take place in the Royal Ballroom. This includes the famous ceremony
wherein distinguished British citizens become knighted
 • The Royal Family have famously used the balcony, located on the East Front, to greet the large
crowds that congregate outside the Palace. Some of the most famous events include King
George V’s appearance on the eve of World War I, or more recently, the post wedding kiss
shared between Kate Middleton and Prince William.

• The palace contains over 77,000 square meters of floor space.

• The wine vaults, located beneath the West Wing, serve as the oldest part of the palace. These
vaults belonged to the Duke of Buckingham way before the residence was even considered a
royal residence.

Buckingham Palace remains one of London’s most sought after tourist attractions, bringing tourists
from all over the world to the city.
 CONCLUSION

Thus, Buckingham Palace is a symbol and home of the British monarchy, an art gallery and
tourist attraction. Behind the gilded railings and gates which were made by the Bromsgrove Guild and
Webb's famous facade which has been described as looking "like everybody's idea of a palace"the large
staff employed by the Royal Household work to keep Britain's constitutional monarchy functioning.
Buckingham Palace features as a prominent back drop to London charity fund raising events like the
London marathon and the British 10K each summer.
The Palace is more than a home for the Royals. It is the official administrative headquarters of
the monarchy and contains the offices of their staff. It is the place where all Royal ceremonies and
official banquets are held. Government ministers, top civil servants and heads of state visit to carry out
their duties. More than 50,000 people visit Buckingham Palace each year, either officially or as guests.
It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'working from home'.
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