Buckingham_Palace

qas: question: What was Buckingham Palace orginally known as?
answers: text: Buckingham House

question: Who was Buckingham Palace was originally built for?
answers: text: Duke of Buckingham

question: Which king acquired the Buckingham House in 1761?
answers: text: King George III

question: What was Buckingham House known as when Queen Charlotte resided there?
answers: text: "The Queen's House"

question: Which two architects were commissioned to enlarge Buckingham in the 19th century?
answers: text: John Nash and Edward Blore

question: For whom was Buckingham house originally built?
answers: text: Duke of Buckingham

question: Who enlarged the house in the 19th century?
answers: text: John Nash and Edward Blore

question: When did the palace become the London residence for the monarchs?
answers: text: 1837

question: What is Buckingham Palace currently known as?

question: Who was Buckingham Palace originally built to oppose?

question: Which king acquired the Buckingham House in 1751?

question: What was Buckingham House known as when Queen Charlotte died there?

question: Which two architects were commissioned to enlarge Buckingham in the 17th century?
context: Originally known as Buckingham House, the building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as "The Queen's House". During the 19th century it was enlarged, principally by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who constructed three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace became the London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.

qas: question: What colors were added in the partial redecoration overseen by King Edward VII?
answers: text: Belle Époque cream and gold

question: What original colors from the 19th century were used on the advice of Sir Charles Long?
answers: text: brightly coloured scagliola and blue and pink lapis

question: How many rooms does the palace have?
answers: text: 775 rooms

question: In which style are many of the smaller reception rooms furnished in?
answers: text: Chinese regency style

question: What house were many of the furniture and fittings brought from?
answers: text: Carlton House

question: Who suggested the use of brightly coloured scagliola and blue and pink lapis?
answers: text: Sir Charles Long

question: Who oversaw the redecoration that used a Belle Époque cream and gold colour scheme?
answers: text: King Edward VII

question: Smaller reception rooms are decorated in which style?
answers: text: Chinese regency style

question: Furniture and fittings were brought over from which house?
answers: text: Carlton House

question: What colors were removed in the partial redecoration overseen by King Edward VII?

question: What original colors from the 18th century were used on the advice of Sir Charles Long?

question: How many rooms does the palace have closed off?

question: Which style are none of the reception rooms furnished in?

question: What house were many of the furniture and fittings lost from?
context: The original early 19th-century interior designs, many of which survive, include 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 Époque 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. The palace has 775 rooms, and the garden is the largest private garden in London. The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public each year for most of August and September, and on selected days in winter and spring.

qas: question: Which river runs underneath the palace?
answers: text: river Tyburn

question: The site of the palace was once owned by which queen consort in the late Saxon times?
answers: text: Edith of Wessex

question: Who did William the Conqueror give the site of the palace to?
answers: text: Geoffrey de Mandeville

question: The site was passed to monks from which abbey?
answers: text: Westminster Abbey

question: The site of the palace formed part of which Manor in the Middles ages?
answers: text: Manor of Ebury

question: What was the name of the village that grew at Cow Ford?
answers: text: Eye Cross

question: Who gave the site to the monks of Westminster?
answers: text: Geoffrey de Mandeville

question: What was the name of the manor that previously existed on the site?
answers: text: Manor of Ebury

question: Which river runs above the palace?

question: Which queen consort in the late Saxon times once rented the site of the palace?

question: Who did William the Conqueror buy the site of the palace from?

question: Which abbey refused to have the site passed to the monks?

question: What was the name of the village that burned at Cow Ford?
context: In the Middle Ages, the site of the future palace 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 (at Cow Ford), the village of Eye Cross grew. 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.

qas: question: Which property tycoon inherited the property in the late 17th century?
answers: text: Sir Hugh Audley

question: Which village had fallen into decay?
answers: text: Eye Cross

question: Who established a mulberry garden on the property?
answers: text: James I

question: What product did the mulberry garden produce?
answers: text: silk

question: Who suggests that the mulberry garden is likely a place for debauchery?
answers: text: Clement Walker

question: What about the palace was subject to speculation in the 17th century?
answers: text: the freehold

question: Which village had fallen into decay but the 17th century?
answers: text: Eye Cross

question: Who sold off part of the Crown Freehold?
answers: text: James I

question: What type of garden did James I create?
answers: text: mulberry

question: What did the mulberry garden produce?
answers: text: silk.

question: Which property tycoon inherited the property in the late 19th century?

question: Which village had become overpopulated?

question: Who destroyed a mulberry garden on the property?

question: What product did the mulberry garden avoid?

question: What about the palace was subject to speculation in the 15th century?
context: Various owners leased it from royal landlords and the freehold was the subject of frenzied speculation during 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 4-acre (16,000 m2) 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.

qas: question: Who built the first house on the site?
answers: text: Sir William Blake

question: Which owner developed much of the garden still seen today?
answers: text: Lord Goring

question: What was Lord Goring's garden known as?
answers: text: Goring Great Garden

question: Under which king did the Royal Family regain the freehold title of the property? 
answers: text: King George III

question: Which king failed to execute Goring's freehold document before fleeing to London?
answers: text: King Charles I

question: Who owned the first house built on the site?
answers: text: Sir William Blake

question: Who developed what is much of today's garden at Buckingham?
answers: text: Lord Goring

question: What was the name of Lord Goring Garden?
answers: text: Goring Great Garden

question: Which king fled to London leaving allowing the Royal family to keep it's freehold on the property?
answers: text: King Charles I

question: Who demolished the first house on the site?

question: Which owner developed none of the garden still seen today?

question: What was Lord Goring's garden mistakenly known as?

question: Which king executed Goring's freehold document before staying in London?

question: Who removed the last house built on the site?
context: 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, obtain the 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.

qas: question: In what year did William Winde design the house which forms the core of the palace?
answers: text: 1703

question: Who sold Buckingham house in 1761?
answers: text: Sir Charles Sheffield

question: How much did George III pay for the house?
answers: text: £21,000

question: In what year was the leasehold of the Mulberry site due to expire?
answers: text: 1774

question: How many flanking service wings did the original Buckingham House have?
answers: text: two

question: The house which is the core of Buckingham was first built for who?
answers: text: Duke of Buckingham and Normanby

question: Who designed the house for the Duke of Buckingham?
answers: text: William Winde

question: How many flanking service wings did Buckingham House have?
answers: text: two

question: Who bought Buckingham House in 1761?
answers: text: George III

question: How much did George III pay for Buckingham House? 
answers: text: £21,000

question: What year did William Winde burn the house which forms the core of the palace?

question: Who sold Buckingham house in 1741?

question: How much did George II pay for the house?

question: How many flanking service wings did the original Buckingham House remove?

question: Who bought Buckingham House in 1781?
context: The house which forms the architectural core of the palace was built for the first Duke of Buckingham and Normanby 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. Sheffield's leasehold on the mulberry garden site, the freehold of which was still owned by the royal family, was due to expire in 1774.

qas: question: What did King George IV originally want the structure to be?
answers: text: a small, comfortable home

question: King William thought about converting the palace into what after a fire destroyed the Palace of Westminster in 1834?
answers: text: new Houses of Parliament

question: Which architect helped modify the house into a palace?
answers: text: John Nash

question: In what year was Nash removed as architect?
answers: text: 1829

question: Who was hired in 1830 to finish the work on the palace?
answers: text: Edward Blore

question: What year did remodeling of Buckingham House begin?
answers: text: 1762

question: What was George IV's original plan for the house? 
answers: text: a small, comfortable home

question: What year did the king decide to make it into a palace?
answers: text: 1826

question: Who was the main architect that transformed the house into the palace?
answers: text: John Nash

question: Who did King William IV hired to finish the work after Nash was fired?
answers: text: Edward Blore

question: What did King George IV originally make the structure to be?

question: Which architect helped modify the palace into a house?

question: What year was Nash promoted as architect?

question: Who was fired in 1830 to finish the work on the palace?

question: What year did remodeling of Buckingham House become banned?
context: Remodelling of the structure began in 1762. After his accession to the throne in 1820, King George IV continued the renovation with the idea in mind of a small, comfortable home. While the work was in progress, in 1826, the King decided to modify the house into a palace with the help of his architect John Nash. Some furnishings were transferred from Carlton House, and others had been bought in France after the French Revolution. The external façade was designed keeping in mind the French neo-classical influence preferred by George IV. The cost of the renovations grew dramatically, and by 1829 the extravagance of Nash's designs resulted in his removal as architect. On the death of George IV in 1830, his younger brother King William IV hired Edward Blore to finish the work. At one stage, William considered converting the palace into the new Houses of Parliament, after the destruction of the Palace of Westminster by fire in 1834.

qas: question: Who was the first monarch to reside at Buckingham Palace?
answers: text: Queen Victoria

question: Who died before the palace was completed?
answers: text: William IV

question: Buckingham became a principle residence for the Royal Family in which year?
answers: text: 1837

question: What was the problem with chimneys in the palace?
answers: text: the chimneys smoked

question: At the end of which year were most of the design problems of the palace rectified under Prince Albert?
answers: text: 1840

question: When did Buckingham officially become the principle royal residence?
answers: text: 1837

question: Who was the first monarch to reside there?
answers: text: Queen Victoria

question: Who died before seeing Buckingham Palace's completion?
answers: text: William IV

question: What was the problem with the palace's chimneys?
answers: text: the chimneys smoked

question: Who dealt with the design faults of the palace?
answers: text: Prince Albert

question: Who was the only monarch to reside at Buckingham Palace?

question: Who died right as the palace was completed?

question: What was the best thing about chimneys in the palace?

question: When did Buckingham officially become the only royal residence?

question: Who was the worst monarch to reside there?
context: Buckingham Palace finally became the principal royal residence in 1837, on the accession of Queen Victoria, who was the first monarch to reside there; her predecessor William IV had died before its completion. 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 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 reorganisation 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.

qas: question: Who designed the new wing for the palace in 1847?
answers: text: Edward Blore

question: The new wing was built by whom?
answers: text: Thomas Cubitt

question: What is the East front of the palace known as?
answers: text: "public face" of Buckingham Palace

question: The East Front contains what famous feature?
answers: text: the balcony

question: Who was the student of Nash that designed the ballroom wing?
answers: text: Sir James Pennethorne.

question: Who designed a new wing for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert when they felt they needed more space?
answers: text: Edward Blore

question: Who built the new wing?
answers: text: Thomas Cubitt

question: What is considered the public face of the palace?
answers: text: The large East Front

question: What other wing was built during this time?
answers: text: The ballroom wing

question: Which of Nash's students designed The Ballroom?
answers: text: Sir James Pennethorne

question: Who designed the blue wing for the palace in 1837?

question: What is the West front of the palace described as?

question: Who was the teacher of Nash that destroyed the ballroom wing?

question: What is considered the private nose of the palace?

question: What other wing was removed during this time?
context: 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 after the annual 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.

qas: question: The palace frequently hosted which type of events prior to the death of Prince Albert?
answers: text: musical entertainments

question: Which composer played at Buckingham on three occasions?
answers: text: Felix Mendelssohn

question: Which piece of music by Johann Strauss was first performed at Buckingham in honor of Princess Alice?
answers: text: Alice Polka

question: Queen Victoria hosted which type of balls?
answers: text: lavish costume balls

question: Before Prince Albert died what sort of entertainment was held at Buckingham?
answers: text: musical entertainments

question: Which composer played there on three occasions?
answers: text: Felix Mendelssohn

question: Who performed Alice Polka in honor of Princess Alice?
answers: text: Johann Strauss II

question: What type of balls did Queen Victoria hold?
answers: text: lavish costume balls

question: Which type of events prior to the death of Prince Albert were never hosted by the palace?

question: Which composer played at Buckingham on eight occasions?

question: Who performed Alice Polka in opposition of Princess Alice?

question: What type of balls did Queen Victoria avoid?

question: What sort of entertainment was banned at Buckingham before Prince Albert died?
context: Before Prince Albert's death, the palace was frequently the scene of musical entertainments, and the greatest contemporary musicians entertained at Buckingham Palace. The composer 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 usual royal ceremonies, investitures and presentations.

qas: question: When year did Prince Albert die?
answers: text: 1861

question: What forced the Queen to return to London?
answers: text: public opinion

question: What was the fate of Buckingham after the left?
answers: text: the palace was seldom used, even neglected.

question: Where were court functions held upon the Queens return to London?
answers: text: Windsor Castle

question: When did Prince Albert die?
answers: text: 1861

question: What did Queen Victoria do in response to his death?
answers: text: left Buckingham Palace

question: Which house did Queen Victoria stay at after she left Buckingham?
answers: text: Osborne House

question: What happened to Buckingham after Queen Victoria left?
answers: text: palace was seldom used, even neglected

question: Where did Queen Victoria hold court functions during this time?
answers: text: Windsor Castle

question: When year did Prince Albert resurrect?

question: What forced the Queen to leave London forever?

question: Where were court functions held upon the Queens exile from London?

question: What did Queen Victoria do in response to Prince Albert's birth?
context: 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, even neglected. In 1864, a note was found pinned to the fence of Buckingham Palace, saying: "These commanding premises to be let or sold, in consequence of the late occupant's declining business." Eventually, public opinion forced the Queen to return to London, though even then she preferred to live elsewhere whenever possible. Court functions were still held at Windsor Castle, presided over by the sombre Queen habitually dressed in mourning black, while Buckingham Palace remained shuttered for most of the year.

qas: question: How many principle bedrooms does the palace have?
answers: text: 52

question: How many bathrooms are there?
answers: text: 78

question: A large bow is a large feature of the facade in which stateroom?
answers: text: the Music Room

question: How long is the Picture Gallery in yards?
answers: text: 55 yards

question: Which rooms has large white marble statues of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria?
answers: text: The Guard Room

question: What is the floor space of the palace?
answers: text: 77,000 m2 (830,000 sq ft)

question: How many staterooms does the palace have?
answers: text: 19 state rooms

question: How many bathrooms does the palace have?
answers: text: 78 bathrooms

question: How many offices does the palace have?
answers: text: 92 offices

question: How many principle bedrooms does the palace spy on?

question: How many bathrooms are made from gold there?

question: Which stateroom has a small bow as a feature of the facade?

question: How long is the Picture Gallery in miles?

question: How many offices in the palace have closed indefinitely?
context: The palace measures 108 metres (354 ft) by 120 metres (390 ft), is 24 metres (79 ft) high and contains over 77,000 m2 (830,000 sq ft) of floorspace. The floor area is smaller than the Royal Palace of Madrid, the Papal Palace in Rome, the Louvre in Paris, the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, or the Forbidden City. There are 775 rooms, including 19 state rooms, 52 principal bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms. The principal rooms are contained on the piano nobile behind the west-facing garden façade 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 façade. 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.

qas: question: Which rooms are used for less formal entertaining such as luncheons or private audiences?
answers: text: the semi-state apartments

question: Which room is named for visit of Tsar Nicolas I of Russia?
answers: text: 1844 Room

question: The 1855 Room is name for which European emperor?
answers: text: Emperor Napoleon III of France

question: Guests attending the Queen's Garden Parties will mostly likely see which room?
answers: text: Bow Room

question: Where are the suites located that the Queen and Prince Phillip use?
answers: text: the north wing

question: What is the name of the slightly less luxurious staterooms located underneath the State Apartments?
answers: text: semi-state apartments

question: What type of entertaining are the semi-state apartments used for?
answers: text: less formal entertaining

question: Who is the 1844 Room named after?
answers: text: Tsar Nicholas I of Russia

question: Who is the 1855 Room named after?
answers: text: Emperor Napoleon III of France

question: Where are the Queen and Prince Phillip's apartments located?
answers: text: the north wing

question: Which rooms are used for more formal entertaining such as luncheons or public audiences?

question: Which room does not allow visits by Tsar Nicolas I of Russia?

question: Which European chef is The 1845 Room named after?

question: Where are the suites located that the King and Prince Phillip use?

question: Who is the 1744 Room named after?
context: 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, decorated in that year for the State visit of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, and, on the other side of the Bow Room, the 1855 Room, in honour of the visit of Emperor Napoleon III of France. 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. The Queen and Prince Philip use a smaller suite of rooms in the north wing.

qas: question: Where did many of the fittings for the new east wing come from?
answers: text: Brighton Pavilion

question: When was the new east wing built?
answers: text: Between 1847 and 1850

question: What is the theme for the new east wing?
answers: text: oriental

question: The red and blue Chinese Luncheon Room has what as a main feature?
answers: text: large oriental chimney piece

question: Who designed the chimney piece in The Yellow Drawing Room?
answers: text: Robert Jones

question: What was Blore building between 1847 and 1850?
answers: text: the new east wing

question: Many rooms in the new east wing are in what style?
answers: text: oriental

question: Parts of the Brighton Banqueting and Music Rooms from Brighton Pavilion make up which Buckingham Room?
answers: text: The red and blue Chinese Luncheon Room

question: Where did none of the fittings for the new west wing come from?

question: When was the new east wing destroyed?

question: What theme is forbidden in the new east wing?

question: Who removed the chimney piece in The Yellow Drawing Room?

question: What style are in none of the rooms in the new east wing?
context: 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 with a large oriental chimney piece sculpted by Richard Westmacott. The Yellow Drawing Room has wallpaper supplied in 1817 for the Brighton Saloon, and a chimney piece which is a European vision of how the Chinese chimney piece may appear. It has nodding mandarins in niches and fearsome winged dragons, designed by Robert Jones.

qas: question: Which room has the famous balcony used by the royals?
answers: text: Centre Room

question: What is the main theme of the Centre Room?
answers: text: Chinese

question: Which Queen enhanced the Chinese theme of the Centre Room in the 1920s?
answers: text: Queen Mary

question: The lacquer doors in the Centre Room were brought from Brighton in which year?
answers: text: 1873

question: The Principle Corridor features which type of doors?
answers: text: mirrored doors

question: Which room feature the famous balcony?
answers: text: Centre Room

question: Which designer did Queen Mary work with to enhance the Centre Room?
answers: text: Sir Charles Allom

question: The Principle Corridor has which type of doors?
answers: text: mirrored doors

question: What year were the lacquer doors brought from Brighton?
answers: text: 1873

question: Which room has the infamous balcony forbidden by the royals?

question: What is the secondary theme of the Centre Room?

question: Which Queen ruined the Chinese theme of the Centre Room in the 1930s?

question: Which room avoids the famous balcony?

question: Which designer did Queen Mary fire to enhance the Centre Room?
context: 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.

qas: question: Where do foreign heads of stay usually stay in Buckingham Palace?
answers: text: the Belgian Suite

question: What floor are the Belgian Suites located?
answers: text: ground floor

question: The Belgian Suite is located at the foot of which staircase?
answers: text: the Minister's Staircase

question: How are the rooms of the Belgian Suites linked?
answers: text: by narrow corridors

question: What is the style of the saucer domes in the Belgian Suite?
answers: text: the style of Soane

question: Where do foreign heads of stay at Buckingham Palace?
answers: text: the Belgian Suite

question: The Belgian Suite is located at the bottom of which staircase?
answers: text: Minister's Staircase

question: On which floor is the Belgian Suite located?
answers: text: the ground floor

question: How are the rooms in the Belgian Suite connected?
answers: text: by narrow corridors

question: The saucer domes are in whose style?
answers: text: the style of Soane

question: Where do foreign heads of stay usually avoid in Buckingham Palace?

question: What floor are the Belgian Suites burned?

question: How are the rooms of the Belgian Suites separated?

question: Where do foreign heads paint at Buckingham Palace?

question: Which floor is the Belgian Suite restricted?
context: When paying a state visit to Britain, foreign heads of state are usually entertained by the Queen at Buckingham Palace. They are allocated a large suite of rooms known as the Belgian Suite, situated at the foot of the Minister's Staircase, on the ground floor of the north-facing Garden Wing. The rooms of the suite are linked by narrow corridors, one of them is given extra height and perspective by saucer domes designed by Nash in the style of Soane. A second corridor in the suite has Gothic influenced cross over vaulting. The Belgian Rooms themselves were decorated in their present style and named after Prince Albert's uncle Léopold I, first King of the Belgians. In 1936, the suite briefly became the private apartments of the palace when they were occupied by King Edward VIII.

qas: question: Aside from being the home of the monarchy and a tourist attraction, what else is Buckingham Palace known for?
answers: text: art gallery

question: Who made the palaces gilded railings and gates?
answers: text: Bromsgrove Guild

question: Buckingham Palace is also the London Residence for which Duke?
answers: text: Duke of York

question: Who is Buckingham palace home to?
answers: text: the British monarchy

question: Who completed the palaces gilded railing and gates?
answers: text: Bromsgrove Guild

question: In what year were the railings and gates completed?
answers: text: 1911

question: How many people work at Buckingham Palace?
answers: text: 800 people

question: Who stole the palaces gilded railings and gates?

question: How many people were fired from Buckingham Palace?

question: Who is Buckingham palace restricted from?

question: What year were the railings and gates stolen?

question: Which Duke is not allowed at Buckingham Palace?
context: Thus, Buckingham Palace is a symbol and home of the British monarchy, an art gallery and a tourist attraction. Behind the gilded railings and gates which were completed by the Bromsgrove Guild in 1911 and Webb's famous façade, which has been described in a book published by the Royal Collection as looking "like everybody's idea of a palace", is not only a 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 Queen, Prince Philip, Duke of York, Earl and Countess of Wessex, Princess Royal, and Princess Alexandra, and is the workplace of more than 800 people.

qas: question: Buckingham Palace is actually owned by whom?
answers: text: Crown Estate

question: Where can the public view items from the Royal Collection?
answers: text: Queen's Gallery

question: What was located on the site that is now the Queen's Gallery?
answers: text: chapel

question: What part of the palace has been open to the public every August and September and other select dates since 1993?
answers: text: The palace's state rooms

question: Who owns Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle?
answers: text: Crown Estate

question: Where can the public view the Royal Collection?
answers: text: at the Queen's Gallery

question: Since when have the palaces rooms been opened to the public?
answers: text: since 1993

question: How many people visited the palace in the 2014.2015 fiscal year?
answers: text: 476,000 people

question: Who has never owned Buckingham Palace?

question: Where is the public not allowed to view items from the Royal Collection?

question: What was located on the site that is now the King's Gallery?

question: What part of the palace has been open to the public every August and July and other select dates since 1991?

question: How many people were missing from the palace in the 2014-2015 fiscal year?
context: The palace, like Windsor Castle, is owned by the Crown Estate. It is not the monarch's personal property, unlike Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle. Many of the contents from Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace, and St James's Palace are part of the Royal Collection, held in trust by the Sovereign; they can, on occasion, be viewed by the public at the Queen's Gallery, near the Royal Mews. Unlike the palace and the castle, the purpose-built gallery is open continually and displays a changing selection of items from the collection. It occupies the site of the chapel destroyed by an air raid in World War II. The palace's state rooms have been open to the public during August and September and on selected dates throughout the year since 1993. The money raised in entry fees was originally put towards the rebuilding of Windsor Castle after the 1992 fire devastated many of its state rooms. 476,000 people visited the palace in the 2014–15 financial year.

qas: question: What is the official dress code today at Buckingham Palace?
answers: text: there is no official dress code

question: Which Queen tried and failed to raise the hemline of her dress after WWI?
answers: text: Queen Mary

question: Which King was horrified to see the Queen's hemline raised a few inches?
answers: text: King George V

question: The hemline of daytime skirts were allowed to rise after which year?
answers: text: 1936

question: The knee breeches men formerly wore to the palace were of what era's design?
answers: text: 18th-century design

question: From what century were men's knee breeches worn at Buckingham designed in?
answers: text: 18th-century design

question: What were women obliged to wear in their hair?
answers: text: tiaras or feathers

question: Which queen wanted to shorten her skirt's hemline?
answers: text: Queen Mary

question: Which King was horrified to see the raised hemline on the Queen?
answers: text: George V

question: What is the dress code today at Buckingham?
answers: text: there is no official dress code

question: What were women required to wear in their socks?

question: Which Queen raised the hemline of her dress after WWI?

question: Which King was amused to see the Queen's hemline raised a few inches?

question: What century were men's knee breeches forbidden at Buckingham?

question: Which queen wanted to extend her skirt's hemline?
context: Formerly, men not wearing military uniform wore knee breeches of an 18th-century design. Women's evening dress included obligatory trains and tiaras or feathers in their hair (or both). The dress code governing formal court uniform and dress has progressively relaxed. 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, so the queen kept her hemline unfashionably low. Following their accession in 1936, King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth, allowed the hemline of 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 lounge suits; a minority wear morning coats, and in the evening, depending on the formality of the occasion, black tie or white tie.

qas: question: Under whose reign did court presentations of young aristocratic ladies take place?
answers: text: Edward VII

question: What was the name for the ceremony where debutantes had their first introduction into society?
answers: text: coming out

question: Debutantes wore the feather of which bird in their hair?
answers: text: ostrich feathers

question: After WWII "coming out" ceremonies were replaces with what event?
answers: text: less formal afternoon receptions

question: Under whose reign were young debutantes presented to society at Court?
answers: text: Edward VII

question: What types of feathers did debutantes wear in their hair?
answers: text: ostrich feathers

question: What was the occasion where debutantes were presented to society called?
answers: text: "coming out"

question: After WWII what was the coming out ceremony replaced with?
answers: text: less formal afternoon receptions

question: Whose reign did not include court presentations of young aristocratic ladies?

question: What was the name for the sacrifice where debutantes had their last introduction into society?

question: What bird's feathers did debutantes wear in their shirt?

question: What was the occasion where debutantes were exiled from society called?

question: What was the coming out ceremony replaced with during WWII?
context: Court presentations of aristocratic young ladies to the monarch took place at the palace from the reign of Edward VII. These young women were known as débutantes, and the occasion—termed their "coming out"—represented their first entrée into society. Débutantes wore full court dress, with three tall ostrich feathers in their hair. They entered, curtsied, and performed a choreographed backwards walk and a further curtsy, while manoeuvring a dress train of prescribed length. (The ceremony, known as an evening court, corresponded to the "court drawing rooms" of Victoria's reign.) After World War II, the ceremony was replaced by less formal afternoon receptions, usually without choreographed curtsies and court dress.

qas: question: Where do Investitures take place?
answers: text: in the palace's Ballroom

question: What year was The Ballroom built?
answers: text: 1854

question: Which room has The Ballroom replaced in terms of both use and importance?
answers: text: the throne room

question: What does the Queen stand on during Investitures?
answers: text: the throne dais

question: Knighthood is given by being dubbed with what object?
answers: text: a sword

question: What is the largest room in the palace?
answers: text: Ballroom

question: The Ballroom replaced which other room in terms of importance and use?
answers: text: the throne room

question: Where do Investitures never take place?

question: What year was The Ballroom blown up?

question: Which room has The Ballroom never changed in terms of both use and importance?

question: What is the smallest room in the palace?

question: What does the Queen sit on during Investitures?
context: Investitures, which include the conferring of knighthoods by dubbing with a sword, and other awards take place in the palace's Ballroom, built in 1854. At 36.6 m (120 ft) long, 18 m (59 ft) wide and 13.5 m (44 ft) high, it 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, that was used at the Delhi Durbar in 1911. A military band plays in the musicians' gallery as award recipients approach the Queen and receive their honours, watched by their families and friends.

qas: question: Where do State Banquets take place?
answers: text: the Ballroom

question: In what month does the Queen entertain the diplomatic corps?
answers: text: November

question: What is used to set the dining table for formal dinners?
answers: text: the Grand Service

question: When was the Grand Service made?
answers: text: 1811

question: For whom was the Grand Service made?
answers: text: the Prince of Wales

question: Where do state banquets take place?
answers: text: in the Ballroom

question: When are state banquets held?
answers: text: the first evening of a state visit by a foreign head of state

question: What is the dining table laid with for state banquets?
answers: text: the Grand Service

question: Who was the Grand Service originally made for?
answers: text: Prince of Wales

question: Where are State Banquets forbidden?

question: What month does the Queen promote the diplomatic corps?

question: What is used to set the dining table for casual dinners?

question: When was the Grand Service removed?

question: When are state banquets avoided?
context: State banquets also take place in the Ballroom; these formal dinners are held on the first evening of a state visit by a foreign head of state. On these occasions, for up to 170 guests in formal "white tie and decorations", including tiaras, the dining table is laid with the Grand Service, a collection of silver-gilt plate made in 1811 for the Prince of Wales, later George IV. The largest and most formal reception at Buckingham Palace takes place every November when the Queen entertains members of the diplomatic corps. On this grand occasion, all the state rooms are in use, as the royal family proceed through them, beginning at 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, creating a deliberate optical illusion of space and light.

qas: question: Where is the Gold State Coach housed?
answers: text: the Royal Mews

question: When was the Gold State Coach first used?
answers: text: 1762

question: The Royal Mews houses which type of animal?
answers: text: horses

question: Who designed the Royal Mews?
answers: text: Nash

question: Where is the Gold State Coach kept?
answers: text: the Royal Mews

question: Who designed the Gold State Coach?
answers: text: Sir William Chambers

question: In what year was the Gold State Coach first used?
answers: text: 1762

question: What animals are kept in the mews?
answers: text: horses

question: Who destroyed the Royal Mews?

question: Where is the Silver State Coach housed?

question: Who knows nothing about the Gold State Coach?

question: When was the Gold State Coach last used?

question: What animals are forbidden in the mews?
context: 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 has been used by the monarch for every coronation since George IV. It was last used for the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Also housed in the mews are the coach horses used at royal ceremonial processions.

qas: question: In what year did Edward VII ascend to the throne?
answers: text: 1901

question: Kind Edward VII and Queen Alexandra's friends were know as what?
answers: text: "the Marlborough House Set"

question: Some thought that King Edward VII's redecoration choices were at odds with whose prior work?
answers: text: Nash's

question: Which king commissioned massive redecoration in the Belle Epoque cream and gold color scheme?
answers: text: King Edward

question: What were the group of friends of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra called?
answers: text: the Marlborough House Set

question: What was at odds with Nash's original work in the palace?
answers: text: King Edward's heavy redecorations

question: When did King Edward VII take the throne?
answers: text: 1901

question: What colors were used in the redecorations overseen by King Edward VII?
answers: text: Belle époque cream and gold

question: What year did Edward VII decline to ascend to the throne?

question: Which king commissioned minor redecoration in the Belle Epoque cream and silver color scheme?

question: What were the group of people that King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra avoided called?

question: What supported Nash's original work in the palace?

question: What colors were avoided in the redecorations overseen by King Edward VI?
context: 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 époque cream and gold colour scheme they retain today—once again became a setting for entertaining on a majestic scale but leaving some to feel King Edward's heavy redecorations were at odds with Nash's original work.

qas: question: Under whose reign did the last major building works take place?
answers: text: King George V

question: The principle facade of the East Front is made from what type of stone?
answers: text: Portland stone

question: Which king preferred official entertaining and royal duties to lavish parties?
answers: text: George V

question: Who added and restored furniture to The Royal Collection?
answers: text: Queen Mary

question: Who was responsible for decorating The Blue Drawing Room?
answers: text: Queen Mary

question: Who redesigned Blore's 1850 East Front?
answers: text: Sir Aston Webb

question: The refaced facade was made from what type of stone?
answers: text: Portland stone

question: Which king placed more emphasis on official entertaining and royal duties instead of lavish parties?
answers: text: George V

question: What collection did Queen Mary take an interest in by adding and restoring pieces?
answers: text: Royal Collection of furniture and art

question: Who decorated the Blue Drawing Room?
answers: text: Queen Mary

question: Whose reign never had a major building works take place?

question: Which king avoided official entertaining and royal duties in favor of lavish parties?

question: Who removed and ruined furniture in The Royal Collection?

question: Who redesigned Blore's 1820 West Front?

question: Who burned the Green Drawing Room?
context: 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 façade (of Portland stone) was designed to be the backdrop to the Victoria Memorial, a large memorial statue of Queen Victoria, 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. He arranged a series of command performances featuring jazz musicians such as the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (1919) – the first jazz performance for a head of state, Sidney Bechet, and Louis Armstrong (1932), which earned the palace a nomination in 2009 for a (Kind of) Blue Plaque by the Brecon Jazz Festival as one of the venues making the greatest contribution to jazz music in the United Kingdom. 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 chimneypieces 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 façade. Queen Mary was also responsible for the decoration of the Blue Drawing Room. This room, 69 feet (21 metres) long, previously known as the South Drawing Room, has a ceiling designed specially by Nash, coffered with huge gilt console brackets.

qas: question: Who lived at Buckingham Palace during WWI?
answers: text: King George V and Queen Mary

question: Where were valuable items from Buckingham Palace taken during WWI?
answers: text: Windsor

question: The king refrained from doing what during the war?
answers: text: alcohol

question: In what year was the north-west pavilion turned into a swimming pool?
answers: text: 1938

question: Who persuaded the king to lock the wine cellars during WWI?
answers: text: David Lloyd George

question: Buckingham Palace was untouched during which war?
answers: text: World War I

question: Where were valuables evacuated to during the war?
answers: text: Windsor

question: What did the King give up during the war?
answers: text: alcohol

question: Who convinced the king to lock the wine cellars?
answers: text: David Lloyd George

question: What was the north-west pavilion converted into in 1938?
answers: text: swimming pool

question: Who died at Buckingham Palace during WWI?

question: Where were worthless items from Buckingham Palace taken after WWI?

question: What did the king increase consumption of during the war?

question: What year was the south-west pavilion turned into a swimming pool?

question: Who persuaded the queen to unlock the wine cellars during WWI?
context: 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 King imposed rationing at the palace, much to the dismay of his guests and household. To the King's later regret, David Lloyd George persuaded him to go further by ostentatiously locking the wine cellars and refraining from alcohol, to set a good example to the supposedly inebriated working class. The workers continued to imbibe and the King was left unhappy at his enforced abstinence. In 1938, the north-west pavilion, designed by Nash as a conservatory, was converted into a swimming pool.

qas: question: How many times was the palace bombed in WWII?
answers: text: nine times

question: What was destroyed in 1940?
answers: text: the palace chapel

question: Which monarchs were in residence at Buckingham Palace during WWII?
answers: text: King George VI and Queen Elizabeth

question: The bombing of Buckingham Palace showed what to the public?
answers: text: the common suffering of rich and poor

question: What was destroyed in one of the bombing that hit the palace in WWII?
answers: text: the chapel

question: The King and Queen were filmed doing what after a bombing?
answers: text: inspecting their bombed home

question: The royal family was seen as sharing what with their subjects after the bombings?
answers: text: their subjects' hardship

question: How many times was the palace remodeled in WWII?

question: What was upgraded in 1940?

question: Which monarchs were missing from Buckingham Palace during WWII?

question: What did the royal family never share with their subjects after the bombings?

question: What was hidden from the public as a result of the bombing of Buckingham Palace?
context: During World War II, the palace was bombed nine times, the most serious and publicised of which resulted in the destruction of the palace chapel in 1940. Coverage of this event was played in cinemas all over the UK 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:

qas: question: What is the date of the Battle of Britain Day?
answers: text: 15 September 1940

question: What did Ray Holmes think the German pilot was going to bomb?
answers: text: the Palace

question: What type of airplane was the German craft Holmes rammed into?
answers: text: Dornier Do 17 bomber

question: After the war what did Holmes become?
answers: text: King's Messenger

question: What year did Ray Holmes die?
answers: text: 2005

question: What is September 15, 1940 known as?
answers: text: the Battle of Britain Day

question: What did Ray Holmes believe the German pilot was targeting?
answers: text: the Palace

question: What did Holmes do to stop the German Plane?
answers: text: ram it

question: What type of aircraft was the German Plane?
answers: text: Dornier Do 17 bomber

question: When did Holmes die?
answers: text: 2005

question: What is the date of the celebration of Britain Day?

question: What did Ray Holmes think the German pilot was going to restore?

question: What type of airplane was the German craft Holmes avoiding?

question: What did Holmes become during the war?

question: What year did Ray Holmes give birth?
context: On 15 September 1940, known as the Battle of Britain Day, an RAF pilot, Ray Holmes of No. 504 Squadron RAF rammed a German bomber he believed was going to bomb the Palace. Holmes had run out of ammunition and made the quick decision to ram it. Holmes bailed out. Both aircraft crashed. In fact the Dornier Do 17 bomber was empty. It had already been damaged, two of its crew had been killed and the remainder bailed out. Its pilot, Feldwebel Robert Zehbe, landed, only to die later of wounds suffered during the attack. During the Dornier's descent, it somehow unloaded its bombs, one of which hit the Palace. It then crashed into the forecourt of London Victoria station. The bomber's engine was later exhibited at the Imperial War Museum in London. The British pilot became a King's Messenger after the war, and died at the age of 90 in 2005.