Buckingham Palace is one of the most iconic buildings in the UK. Perhaps the world. But whilst most people will be familiar with the iconic balcony often used by the Royal Family to address their adoring subjects, this entire front-off facade is a relatively recent addition. In fact, the mismatch of buildings we see today is very different to the original family home built in the early 18th century. In this video we're taking a look at the history of Buckingham Palace and its evolving architectural design. We'll also be looking at some of the Palaces extravagant interiors and exploring some interesting facts and traditions. And all this in less than 10 minutes, so pour yourself a cup of tea, put your feet up and enjoy. Situated in the city of Westminster, Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the Royal Family and the administrative headquarters for the Queen. It was not always so, however. Nestled at the core of the palace, sits the original building where it all began. This original private townhouse was built by John Sheffield, third Earl of Mulgrave and Marcus of Normandy in 1703, and was appropriately named Buckingham House after the Earl became the Duke of Buckingham. The house remained largely untouched until it was bought by King George III in 1761. Still not intended as a palace, the house was used as a comfortable family home for the King's wife, Queen Charlotte. Its close proximity to Saint James as palace was an obvious attraction for the Royal couple and the Queen's house as it became known was the birthplace of 14 of their 15 children. The Queen's house went through its first major renovation in 1761 when it was acquired by George's ex-travegan son, George IV. He had ambitious ideas for the house he just inherited and petitioned Parliament for funds to transform the house into a palace. The architect John Nash was commissioned for the transformation and began demolishing the North and South wings before rebuilding them on a much larger and grander scale. The palace was built around a central courtyard with entry gained by a stunning marble arch. This however was later relocated to Hyde Park Quater. Unfortunately for King George, this transformation was a major PR disaster with spiralling cost reach in half a million pounds. That was an awful loss of money for the time and the people were just not happy. Unbelievably, the King never got to move into his fairytale palace and it remained unoccupied until Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837. Unfortunately for Victoria, her first few years at the palace were far from comfortable due to financial constraints and a desire to rush through completion and a number of design flaws throughout the palace led to some pretty dire living conditions. One such issue was that a design flaw in the chimneys resulted in them smoking so badly that the fires could not be lit. This left the palace freezing cold and residents were unable to live there comfortably. As if this wasn't bad enough ventilation was also poor and left rooms smelling stale and musty. Another issue led to concerns regarding gas lighting and it was believed that a gas explosion could result in the entire ground floor being blown up. A further design flaw meant there was also a significant lack of nurseries in visitor bedrooms. These issues were later rectified by architect Edmund Blore who added an additional flaw to the palace and also built the iconic East Wing. This contains a famous balcony which was first used by Queen Victoria in 1851 when she greeted the public during celebrations for the opening of the Great Exhibition. There were very few additions to the palace for the next few decades but damage caused by pollution resulted in the East Wing going through a facelift in 1913. This new frontage was completed just before the First World War and gives the palace the iconic look we enjoy so much today. The palace we see today has a staggering 775 rooms including 19 state rooms, 240 bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. Among some of the palace's most extravagant rooms add a state room. Fortunately these are accessible to members of the public for much of the year. The state rooms are public rooms which have traditionally been used to entertain guests and visiting dignitaries. They are used in the same way today by the Queen to welcome and entertain politicians, monarchs and other VIPs. The state rooms consist of 19 rooms beautifully designed by King George IV's architect John Nash. These rooms are striking and furnished with some of the finest items from the Royal Collection. Pieces include paintings from the likes of Van Dyke and Cannelletto and some of the finest pieces of furniture in the world. Some of the grandest state rooms include the dominating throne room with its beautiful chandeliers and deep red walls. The music room which is used for royal christenens and where guests are presented to the Queen and the exquisitively furnished white drawing room which is used as an extravagant reception room by the royals. The largest room in the palace is the grand ballroom. This is also used as a banquet hall when the Queen is entertained and important guests. The ballroom was also the first room fitted out with electricity in 1883. So some interesting facts about booking and palace. The palace has its own post office, police station, doctor's surgery, cinema and a pool. It even has an ATM. During World War II King George VI in Queen Elizabeth refused to leave the palace, making it an extremely attractive target. In fact the palace was deliberately targeted by the Germans and the palace grounds and the palace suffered a total of nine direct hit during air raids. King Edward VII was the only monarch to have been born and died at booking and palace. It takes ten days to prepare the grand ballroom for a state banquet. You can tell when the Queen is at home when the palace flies the royal standard. When she's out, it's the Union Jack. A boy called Edward Jones or the boy Jones as he became known broke into the palace on at least three occasions between 1838 and 1841. He stole items of the Queen's underwear and claimed to have sat on the throne. He was eventually kidnapped by the government in Central Australia. Buckingham Palace became the centre of the Suffragette campaign in 1914 when a group of women breached the gate and attempted to present their votes for women petition to the monarch. Buckingham Palace is not just the official London residence for the Queen and a husband the Duke of Edinburgh. In fact it's also the official London residence for the Duke of York, his wife and their daughter. Buckingham Palace is not the monarch's official residence. This is actually still sent James as palace. A little known palace situated just down the mile. This is where the Queen's court is situated. A tradition of posts and message on the palace's gates informing the public of a royal birth or death is still carried out today. So then, Buckingham Palace has had a very colourful and at times controversial past. This may be why it's such a popular destination for visitors but for many people it signifies what is great about Britain and its royal family. People wanting to experience a bit of tradition will not be disappointed with all the pomp and circumstance that comes with the royal family. The changing of the guard is a long tradition at the palace and is sure to impress visitors. This formal ceremony is conducted every day and sees the old guard being replaced with a new one. The Queen's guard are easily distinguishable by their traditional red tunics and bare skin hats. The Queen's guard can also be seen once a year in June when the Queen's unofficial birthday is celebrated. This traditional ceremony is known as Troopin of the Colour and is concluded with a royal air force fly past at Buckingham Palace. Just as in 1761 controversy surrounding the palace's finances are very much prevalent today. In fact, in late 2016 an announcement that Buckingham Palace requires a 369 million pound refurbishment has got people really wound up. Why they argue should the tax pay a finance a royal restoration project when so many people are struggling to get by. We must consider however that Buckingham Palace is not just the Queen's home, it's also historically significant building of national interest. An argueably, the royal family, their estate and their traditions likely bring more into the economy than what these restorations will cost. So surely it's a good investment. Either way, it will be a real shame to see such an iconic building fall into a state of disrepair. After all, Buckingham Palace alone attracts over half a million visitors every year and it makes for a truly magical experience. Let me know what you think in the comments below.