Buckingham Palace, Queen Victoria Memorial - YouTube Buckingham Palace, Queen Victoria Memorial Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on May 18, 2012 Queen Victoria (24 May 1819 - 22 January 1901) was the first Monarch to reside in Buckingham Palace upon her accession in 1837 at age 18. The 82 feet high Queen Victoria Memorial built in 1911 is a memorial to the longest reigning monarch in British history. It is located in front of Buckingham Palace in the centre of the Queen's Garden. The Buckingham Palace Garden is the largest private garden in London. Buckingham Palace, the official residence and office of the British Monarch is located in the City of Westminster, London. The popular "royal public viewing" balcony on the east front is where the royal family gathers to greet the crowds outside at royal functions. Buckingham Palace - 6 weeks before The Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Category Buckingham Palace, official London residence of the British monarchy the official London residence and office of the reigning British monarch History In the Middle Ages, the site on which Buckingham Palace stands was part of the Manor of Ebury, which also incorporated a small village called Eye Cross. Originally owned by Edward the Confessor , the property passed through several hands before being acquired by William the Conqueror, who in turn bequeathed it to the monks of Westminster Abbey. King Henry VIII took the manor away from Westminster Abbey in 1536, and the property was subsequently leased to a series of owners by royal landlords. Needing money, King James I sold off most of the property, but kept enough to establish a 4-acre mulberry garden for the production of silk. He chose the wrong type of mulberry trees, however, and his plan for making England a major silk producer never came to fruition. The first house to be built on the site was finished in 1624, under the orders of Sir William Blake, and was expanded by Lord Goring, beginning in 1633.

Neither Blake nor Goring could provide proof they had royal permission to build on the site, however, and the house and grounds subsequently came under the control of Henry Bennett, 1st Earl of Arlington. After the house burned down in 1674, the Earl built Arlington House, which is now the south wing of today's palace. In 1703, the Duke of Buckingham and Normandy decided to build a substantial house on the land, and this is still the central part of todays Buckingham Palace. In 1761, Buckingham House was sold to King George III , who acquired it primarily as a retreat for his wife, Queen Charlotte. Although 14 of his 15 children were born in what he called the Queen's House, the king maintained his official residence at St. James Palace. The first monarch to make the palace the official royal residence was Queen Victoria , who was also responsible for formally naming it Buckingham Palace and turning it into the structure seen today. Statistics and Facts Buckingham Palace is approximately 354 feet long across the front, 393 feet deep, and 78 feet high. Total floor space is just over 828,821 square feet.

It has a total of 775 rooms, including 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms. There are also 1,514 doors and 760 windows. The Palace Garden covers 40 acres and includes a helicopter pad, a lake, and a tennis court. It is home to 30 different bird species and more than 350 varieties of wild flowers, some of which are extremely rare. Suffering from peritonitis and close to death, King Edward VII was operated on in a room overlooking the garden a few months after ascending to the throne in 1901. The surgery proved a success, and he was crowned at Westminster Abbey in August that year. Edward VII is the only monarch to date to be born and die at Buckingham Palace. During World War II , Buckingham Palace suffered nine direct bomb hits. On several occasions King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were in the Palace and narrowly escaped being killed.

One person did die during the wartime bombing -- PC Steve Robertson, a policeman on duty at the Palace, was killed by flying debris on March 8, 1941, when the north side of the Palace was wrecked. A plaque inside the garden commemorates his heroism. A flag always flies above Buckingham Palace. When The Queen is in residence, the Royal Standard flies. When the Sovereign is not present, the Union Flag flies instead. The Official Website of the British Monarchy Who has lived at Buckingham Palace? What to see and do Who has lived at Buckingham Palace? To discover more about the monarchs who have lived at Buckingham Palace, download our Kings and Queens iPad app . Queen Victoria (1837-1901) and Prince Albert (1840-61) Queen Victoria (r.1837-1901) was the first sovereign to rule from Buckingham Palace, acceding to the throne on 20 June 1837, following the death of her uncle William IV. Within 48 hours of taking up residence at the Palace on 13 July of that year, the Queen entertained a large party to dinner in the State Dining Room.

On 10 May 1838, as part of the celebrations leading up to her Coronation, she held the first State ball in the Palace’s South Drawing Room. The Queen’s marriage to her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1841 set the seal on the use of Buckingham Palace as a royal family home and as a place of entertainment, as well as official business. Lavish costume balls were held throughout the 1840s, and the Queen also gave a series of concerts, with her favourite composer Felix Mendelssohn playing at the Palace on five separate occasions during those years. Over the course of 20 years, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert transformed the Palace into the centre of an energetic, cosmopolitan court. The State concerts continued regularly after Prince Albert’s untimely death in 1861, but all other entertainment came to an abrupt end. Queen Victoria was absent from Buckingham Palace for long periods after her husband’s death, preferring to spend her time at Windsor Castle, Balmoral Castle in Scotland or Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.

By the end of her reign in 1901, the Palace had begun to look neglected. King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra (1901-10) The King and his consort Queen Alexandra were determined to revive the high standards of royal entertaining. The Coronation Banquet of August 1902 comprised no fewer than fourteen courses. The King would preside at Evening Courts seated on the throne, and a new dais and canopy were set up in the Ballroom for this purpose. Throughout King Edward VII’s reign, the Palace was the undisputed focus of fashionable social life in London. King George V and Queen Mary (1910-36) Queen Mary had a strong knowledge of furniture and decoration and, advised by curators from the Victoria and Albert Museum, soon set about making up for the Edwardian alterations to the Palace by restoring more of a Regency character to the rooms. In 1935, a year before the end of George V’s reign, the Palace was the focus of national celebrations for the King's Silver Jubilee.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (1936-52) During Germany’s night offensive on London, from early September to mid-November 1940, the King and Queen would leave the Palace each evening for Windsor and return the next morning. In September 1940 the north screen of the East Front was damaged after bombing raids, and the Victorian private chapel in the south-west pavilion on the garden front was destroyed. When the war in Europe ended on 8 May 1945, the King and Queen, their daughters, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, and the Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony before huge crowds. This scene was repeated when hostilities finally came to an end in the Far East, on 15 August, VJ Day. Facts about Queen Victoria for kids Back to the top Who were Victoria's parents? Victoria was the only child of Prince Edward (Duke of Kent) and Princess Victoria Mary Louisa of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Prince Edward (1767-1820) was the fourth son of King George lll. Find out more about Victoria's family tree. Did you know?

Both Queen Elizabeth, the Queen today, and her consort (as her husband is known), the Duke of Edinburgh, are great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria. When was Queen Victoria born? Queen Victoria was born on the 24 May in 1819. Her father died eight months after she was born. Where was Queen Victoria born? Victoria was born at Kensington Palace, London. Back to the top What name was Victoria christened as? Victoria was christened 'Alexandrina Victoria'. However, from birth she was formally addressed as Her Royal Highness Princess Victoria of Kent. Did you know? Back to the top When did Victoria become Queen? Queen Victoria came to the throne when she was only 18 years of age on June 20, 1837. Her coronation was a year later on 28 June 1838. Back to the top Who did Queen Victoria marry? At the age of 21, Victoria married her cousin, Albert of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, a German Prince. They married on the 10th February 1840 at the Chapel Royal in St. James's Palace.

Victoria had nine children, 40 grand-children and 37 great-grandchildren, scattered all over Europe. Most of Queen Victoria's children married into other royal families of Europe. Back to the top How long exactly did Queen Victoria reign? Queen Victoria reigned for exactly sixty-three years, seven months, and two days (June 20, 1837 - January 22, 1901). Queen Victoria is our longest ever serving monarch. Back to the top How old was Victoria when she inherited the throne? She inherited the throne at the age of eighteen, upon the death of her uncle William IV who had no legitimate children (children born to married parents). Why did Queen Victoria wear black? Her husband Albert died in 1861 at the young age of 42. She mourned his death for almost 10 years. For the rest of her reign she wore black. Back to the top Where did Queen Victoria live? Queen Victoria had many homes. She lived in Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Osborne House (Isle of Wight) and Balmoral Castle. Queen Victoria was the first monarch to live in Buckingham Palace. Did you know?

Victoria was known as the "Grandmother of Europe" because many of her children and grandchildren married into the royal families of other European countries. What hobbies did Queen Victoria have? Queen Victoria loved singing and she enjoyed painting and drawing. She loved going to the opera. How did Britain change whilst Victoria was Queen? Whilst Victoria was Queen there was a tremendous change in the lives of British people: Britain became the most powerful country in the world, with the largest empire that had ever existed, ruling a quarter of the world's population. The number of people living in Britain more than doubled, causing a huge demand for food, clothes and housing. Factories and machines were built to meet this demand and new towns grew up, changing the landscape and the ways people lived and worked. Railways, originally built to transport goods, meant people could travel easily around the country for the first time. Queen Victoria survived seven assassination attempts When did Queen Victoria die? Queen Victoria died on 22 January, 1901 at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. She was 81.

Queen Victoria was survived by 6 children, 40 grandchildren and 37 great-grandchildren, including four future sovereigns of England: Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII and George VI. Where is Queen Victoria buried? She is buried in a mausoleum at Frogmore, Windsor. Back to the top Who became the next King or Queen after Victoria? Queen Victoria was succeeded by her eldest son, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. He became King Edward VII. Buckingham Palace: Facts About the Home of the British Monarch | Primary Facts Buckingham Palace: Facts About the Home of the British Monarch Posted on Buckingham Palace is the British monarch’s administrative headquarters, and has been their official London residence since 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch to live in Buckingham Palace. The building was originally called Buckingham House and it started off as a private house built in 1705 for the Duke of Buckingham. It is close to the centre of London, at the intersection of Constitution Hill, The Mall and Birdcage Walk. The Mall is a long tree lined avenue, traditionally used for Royal parades and funerals processions.

The palace has almost 800 rooms, including 240 bedrooms and almost 80 bathrooms. Its rooms and corridors contain one of the world’s greatest art collections. The palace gardens are the largest private gardens in London. They cover 40 acres and contain tennis courts, a boating lake, a helicopter landing pad and over 300 species of flowers. During World War II , the palace was bombed seven times by the Germans. One bomb fell in the courtyard, just yards from the King and Queen. As part of the VE Day celebrations on 8th May 1945, the King, Queen, Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth (before she was Elizabeth II) appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. They were warmly applauded. There are more than 350 working clocks and watches in Buckingham Palace. The palace also has its own chapel, post office, movie theatre and swimming pool. The palace contains over 40,000 light bulbs, although its residents are very concerned about the environment. LED lights are widely used and the palace recycles almost all its waste. Over 450 people work at the palace. The palace’s 760 windows are cleaned every six weeks.

One of the brightest rooms is the ballroom, which is 100 feet long and almost 50 feet high. Over 50,000 people visit Buckingham Palace each year as guests of the Queen. Some famous visitors over the last 250 years have included Mozart, Gandhi, President Kennedy and Neil Armstrong . When the nearby 28-storey Hilton Hotel was built in 1963, there were concerns from the Queen that hotel guests could see into the rooms of Buckingham Palace. What next? Discover some more facts about London and its famous landmarks, or find out more about some other Castles and Palaces . Queen Elizabeth II becomes longest-reigning UK monarch - BBC News Queen Elizabeth II becomes longest-reigning UK monarch 9 September 2015 Close share panel Media caption"A long life can pass by many milestones - my own is no exception" The Queen has thanked well-wishers at home and overseas for their "touching messages of kindness" as she becomes Britain's longest-reigning monarch. Speaking in the Scottish Borders, the 89-year-old monarch said the title was "not one to which I have ever aspired".

At 17:30 BST she had reigned for 23,226 days, 16 hours and approximately 30 minutes - surpassing the reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. David Cameron said the service the Queen had given was "truly humbling". Dressed in turquoise with her trusty black handbag at her side, the Queen spoke briefly to the gathered crowds earlier. "Inevitably a long life can pass by many milestones - my own is no exception - but I thank you all and the many others at home and overseas for your touching messages of great kindness," she said. In the day's main events: The Queen and Prince Philip travelled by steam train from Edinburgh to Tweedbank, where she formally opened the new £294m Scottish Borders Railway They were accompanied by Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who praised the Queen's "dedication, wisdom and exemplary sense of public service" In London, a flotilla of historic vessels, leisure cruisers and passenger boats took part in a procession along the Thames and HMS Belfast sounded a four-gun salute The exact moment the Queen became the longest-reigning sovereign is unknown.

Her father, George VI, passed away in the early hours of 6 February 1952, but his time of death is not known. Her Majesty's Milestone Image copyright Buckingham Palace Image caption Newly released official photographs show the Queen with her official red box, containing the day's policy papers, cabinet documents, Foreign Office papers and other letters World leaders the Queen has outlasted Business in the Commons was postponed for half an hour so that MPs, led by Mr Cameron, could pay tribute to the Queen. The prime minster said she had been a "rock of stability" in an era when so much had changed, and her reign had been the "golden thread running through three post-war generations". He said it was "typical of the Queen's selfless sense of service" that she thought today should be a normal day. Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman said it was "no exaggeration" to say the Queen was "admired by billions of people all around the world". Ministers are to present the Queen with a bound copy of cabinet papers from the meeting in 1952 when Sir Winston Churchill's government approved the content of her first Queen's Speech.

In the House of Lords, leader Baroness Stowell said the Queen had served the country with "unerring grace, dignity and decency", adding: "And long may she continue to do so". Image copyright Reuters Analysis: BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt There have been glowing tributes and much talk about the significance of this moment. No such words were uttered by the subject of all the attention. She undertook a run-of-the-mill engagement on a far from run-of-the-mill day. And in her brief remarks - her lengthy reign hasn't lessened her aversion to making speeches - she displayed some classic British understatement. Overtaking her great-great-grandmother wasn't something she'd ever aspired to, she said. She was simply the beneficiary of a long life. In Scotland - and indeed in other parts of the United Kingdom - that life and her reign have been celebrated very publicly. Privately, later, the Queen will mark the moment she enters the record books. Prince Philip will be with her - her husband of 67 years has been the one constant in a reign of sometimes dizzying change.

Image copyright PA Image caption In London, a flotilla of vessels, including Havengore and Gloriana, took part in a procession along the Thames Image copyright PA Image caption Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, the Royal Party were welcomed by a traditional pipe band Image copyright AFP Image caption The Queen and the Duke stopped off at Newtongrange station where she unveiled a plaque Image copyright PA Image caption Children from Busy Bees Nursery turned out to see the Queen in Tweedbank Buckingham Palace has released two official photographs to mark the occasion, taken by Mary McCartney in the Queen's private audience room. This is where she holds weekly audiences with prime ministers of the day, and receives visiting heads of state and government. The Queen is taking her traditional summer break at this time of year at her private Scottish home, Balmoral. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are in Scotland on holiday and are expected to have dinner with the Queen at Balmoral later.

Queens of the modern age Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Elizabeth II has reigned for 63 years and seven months, beating Queen Victoria's record Victoria became queen at 18, while Elizabeth was 25 Elizabeth II rides in the same coach as Victoria did for the annual State Opening of Parliament Both queens were shot at by lone gunmen while out riding near Buckingham Palace Elizabeth loves the private royal estate at Balmoral, which was bought by Victoria Victoria ruled over an empire of 400 million people. Elizabeth is head of state for 138 million people Queen Victoria became queen at the age of 18 and ruled for 63 years, seven months and two days. Queen Elizabeth's reign has included 12 prime ministers, two more than served under Victoria. Media captionDuke of York: "From her perspective it is business as usual" One of those prime ministers, Conservative Sir John Major, rejected any suggestion the Queen had been too passive as head of state: "The monarchy wouldn't be as popular if they were part of politics - they're above and beyond it. "But when the Queen meets her prime minister she has the opportunity to question, to ask, to counsel.

Nobody knows and no prime minister is going to tell you exactly what happens at those meetings. So those who say she's been too passive, how can they possibly know?" 'Genuinely exceptional' The Queen is Head of the Commonwealth and sovereign of 15 Commonwealth realms in addition to the UK, and the organisation's Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, sent his congratulations. "As a symbol of continuity during decades of unprecedented change, and by drawing our people together in their rich diversity, Her Majesty has embodied all that is best in the Commonwealth," he said. "With vision and dedication her example has encouraged successive generations of leaders and citizens to embrace the promise of the future." Media captionGraham Smith: "I don't think that keeping a job for life, for life, is something to get excited about" Anti-monarchist group Republic said the Queen's long reign was a reason for reform not celebration. Chief executive Graham Smith said: "It is now time for the country to look to the future and to choose a successor through free and fair elections, someone who can genuinely represent the nation." Facts about Buckingham Palace The Royal Flag When can we see the flag on the pole?

When the Queen is at home, you can see her royal flag flying from the flag pole on top of Buckingham Palace. This flag is called the Royal Standard. The flag is split into four quadrants. The first and fourth quadrants represent England and contain three gold lions walking (passant) on a red field; the second quadrant represents Scotland contains a red lion standing on the left hind foot (rampant) on a gold field; the third quadrant represents Ireland and contains the gold Coat of arms of Ireland on a blue field. In flag protocol, the Royal Standard is supreme. It must only be flown from buildings where the Queen is present. It flies above the British Union Flag (Union Jack), Standards of other Royal Family members, and other British flags. It never flies at half staff. Standing guard outside Buckingham Palace Foot Guards Who guards the palace? What do they wear? Five regiments of Foot Guards guard the Palace. They wear red jackets and tall, furry hats called bearskins. When the first guards come on duty, there is a ceremony called the Changing of the Guard. Changing of the Guard A familiar sight at Buckingham Palace is the Changing of the Guard ceremony that takes place in the forecourt each morning.

The monarch and the royal palaces have been guarded by the Household Troops since 1660. Read more about the Changing of the Guard ceremony Inside Buckingham Palace What can you see inside Buckinham Palace? The Palace has around 600 rooms, including 19 State rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 78 bathrooms, 92 offices, a cinema and a swimming pool. It also has its own post office and police station. About 400 people work at the Palace, including domestic servants, chefs, footmen, cleaners, plumbers, gardeners, chauffers, electricians, and two people who look after the 300 clocks. Royal Parties Every year, more than 50,000 people come to the Palace each year as guests to banquets, lunches, dinners, receptions, and Royal Garden Parties Interesting facts about Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms including 19 state rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. Queen Victoria was the first monarch to live at Buckingham Palace. Where to next?

From Buckingham Palace you can walk through Green Park to Horse Guards Parade where you will see the soldiers on horseback. Engineering Timelines - Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace date 1762, 1820 - 1847, 1914, 2002 era Georgian | category Building | reference TQ289797 photo Paul Cliff Now the London residence of the United Kingdom's reigning monarch, Buckingham Palace began life as a non-royal country house, which seems far-fetched nowadays given its central location. The building was remodelled extensively in the 18th and 19th centuries. Originally called Buckingham House, the future palace was bought by King George III in 1761 for use as a family home near his official residence, St James�s Palace. It was named Queen�s House in 1774, and Queen Charlotte gave birth here to 14 of the king�s 15 children. The first remodelling began in 1762, to designs by Sir William Chambers costing �73,000. In 1820, King George IV ascended the throne and engaged architect John Nash to reconstruct the house.

Some time near the end of 1826, the king decided to transform the house into a royal palace. Nash doubled the size of the main house by adding a suite of new rooms on the garden (west) side. The external fa�ade was faced with Bath stone, in the French neo-classical style the king preferred, and remains intact today. The original north and south wings were demolished and rebuilt to grander plans. The courtyard was enlarged to accommodate a memorial to the British victories at Trafalgar (1805) and Waterloo (1815) � the famous Marble Arch (now relocated). By 1829, the unfinished works had cost parliament close to �500,000 and Nash was dismissed. When King William IV (George IV�s younger brother) became king in 1830, he commissioned Edward Blore to complete the long-running project. The first monarch to reside in Buckingham Palace was Queen Victoria, following her accession in 1837. There were no nurseries and not enough bedrooms, which became a problem after the queen�s marriage to Prince Albert in 1840.

To create space for additional accommodation, Marble Arch was moved to its present position near Speakers� Corner at Hyde Park � ready for the Great Exhibition of 1851. A fourth (east) wing was then constructed, creating a quadrangle. The East Front was faced with soft French stone. An attic storey was added to the main (west) wing, and the friezes intended for Marble Arch were used as external decoration. Blore and his engineer, Thomas Cubitt (1788-1855), completed the works in 1847 for �106,000 with funds raised from the sale of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Between 1911 and 1914, as part of the Victoria Memorial, the present palace forecourt was laid out and the gates and railings were installed. In 1913, Sir Aston Webb was engaged to devise a replacement fa�ade for the East Front, which had deteriorated under the acid attack of London soot. He chose to use Portland Stone, and removing the original stonework and replacing it with the new design was completed during 13 weeks in 1914.

A private chapel adjoining the south west corner of Buckingham Palace was bombed in World War II (1939-45), and converted into the Queen�s Gallery in the 1960s. It displays items from the royal collection. To celebrate Queen Elizabeth II�s Golden Jubilee, the gallery was enlarged and refurbished extensively and was reopened by the queen on 21st May 2002. In addition to the gallery, the project included work on the garden pavilion bridge link, the new entrance hall, the eight-columned portico and the Nash staircase. Bath and Portland stone were used for the new stonework. The contract value was �1,100,000. In the south of the royal gardens, south west of the palace, lie the Royal Mews where the state vehicles, carriages and coaches are kept. The palace is open to the paying public between July and September. The State Rooms are almost unchanged since Nash�s remodelling. The Changing of the Guard ceremony takes place at 11.30am in the palace forecourt � daily in April, May, June and July, and on alternate days during the other months (weather permitting).

Architect (1762): Sir William Chambers Architect (1820-9): John Nash Architect (Queen's Gallery 2002): John Simpson & Partners Research: ECPK Buckingham Palace (Buckingham House) London, England Buckingham Palace (Buckingham House) London, England history Buckingham Palace (Buckingham House) London, England Buckingham Palace (UK /ˈbʌkɪŋəm/ /ˈpælɪs/[1][2]) is the London residence and principal workplace of the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom.[3] Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focus for the British people at times of national rejoicing. Originally known as Buckingham House, the building which forms the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site which had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was subsequently acquired by King George III in 1761[4] as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and was known as "The Queen's House".

During the 19th century it was enlarged, principally by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who formed 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 centuries, including the East front, which contains the well-known balcony on which the royal family traditionally congregates to greet crowds outside. However, the palace chapel was destroyed by a German bomb during World War II; the Queen's Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection. 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 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 Buckingham Palace 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, as part of the Palace's Summer Opening. History Site 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.[5] 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.[6] In 1531, King Henry VIII acquired the Hospital of St James (later St.

James's Palace)[7] from Eton College, and in 1536 he took the Manor of Ebury from Westminster Abbey.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] 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.)[11] 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.[12] First houses on the site Goring House Possibly the first house erected within the site was that of a Sir William Blake, around 1624.[13] 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.[14][15] 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".[16] (It was this critical omission that helped the British royal family regain the freehold under King George III.)[17] Arlington House The improvident Goring defaulted on his rents;[18] Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington obtained the mansion and was occupying it, now known as Goring House, when it burned down in 1674.[15] Arlington House rose on the site—the southern wing of today's palace—the next year,[15] and its freehold was bought in 1702. Buckingham House painted by an unknown English artist c. 1800. Buckingham House The palace c. 1837, depicting the Marble Arch, which served as the ceremonial entrance to the Palace precincts. It was moved to make way for the east wing, built in 1847, which enclosed the quadrangle.

The house which forms the architectural core of the present 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.[19] Buckingham House was eventually sold by Buckingham's descendant, Sir Charles Sheffield, in 1761[4] to George III for £21,000.[20] 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. When Sheffield sold Buckingham House, it came into the hands of the royal family. From Queen's House to palace The house was originally intended as a private retreat, and in particular for Queen Charlotte, and was known as The Queen's House[21]—14 of their 15 children were born there. St.

James's Palace remained the official and ceremonial royal residence.[22] Remodelling of the structure began in 1762.[23] 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.[24] Some furnishings were transferred from Carlton House, and others had been bought in France after the French Revolution.[25] 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.[26][27] At one stage, William considered converting the palace into the new Houses of Parliament, after the destruction of the existing namesake by fire in 1834.[28] Home of the monarch Buckingham Palace finally became the principal royal residence in 1837, on the accession of Queen Victoria,[29] who was the first monarch to reside there as her predecessor William IV had died before its completion.[30] 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.[31] 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.[31] 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. By 1847, the couple had found the palace too small for court life and their growing family,[32] and consequently the new wing, designed by Edward Blore, was built by Thomas Cubitt,[33] 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 after 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 death, the palace was frequently the scene of musical entertainments,[34] and the greatest contemporary musicians entertained at Buckingham Palace.

The composer Felix Mendelssohn is known to have played there on three occasions.[35] Johann Strauss II and his orchestra played there when in England.[36] Strauss's "Alice Polka" was first performed at the palace in 1849 in honour of the Queen's daughter, Princess Alice.[37] Under Victoria, Buckingham Palace was frequently the scene of lavish costume balls, in addition to the routine royal ceremonies, investitures and presentations. 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. 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."[38] 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.[39] Interior 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.[40] The principal rooms of the palace 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.[41] The Gallery is hung with numerous works including some by Rembrandt, van Dyck, Rubens and Vermeer;[42][43] 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.[41] 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. 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, on the other side of the Bow Room, the 1855 Room, in honour of the visit of Emperor Napoleon III of France.[44] 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.[45] 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 designed by W.M. Feetham.

The Yellow Drawing Room has wallpaper which had been 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, designed by Robert Jones.[46] 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"[47] 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.[48] 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.

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.[49] 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 given extra height and perspective by saucer domes designed by Nash in the style of Soane.[50] A second corridor in the suite has Gothic influenced cross over vaulting.[50] 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.[51] Court ceremonies The Ballroom is the largest room at Buckingham Palace.

It was added by Queen Victoria and is used for ceremonies such as investitures and state banquets. This painting dates from 1856. The polychrome colour scheme has been replaced by mainly white decoration with gold details and red upholstery. Court dress Formerly, men not wearing military uniform would wear 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.[52] 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.[51] Most men invited to Buckingham Palace in the daytime choose to wear service uniform or lounge suits;[51] a minority wear morning coats, and in the evening, depending on the formality of the occasion, black tie or white tie. Presentation of debutantes 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, 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.)[53] After World War II, the ceremony was replaced by less formal afternoon receptions, usually without choreographed curtsies and court dress.[54] In 1958, the Queen abolished the presentation parties for débutantes,[55] replacing them with Garden Parties.[56] Investitures 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[51] (120' × 59' × 44' 3.5"), 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, which is known as a shamiana or a baldachin and was used at the coronation Durbar, Delhi in 1911.[57] A military band plays in the musicians' gallery as award recipients approach the Queen and receive their honours, watched by their families and friends.[58] State banquets 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.[58] On these occasions, 150 or more guests in formal "white tie and decorations", including tiaras for women, may 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.[59] On this occasion, all the state rooms are in use, as the royal family proceed through them[60] beginning 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. Other ceremonies and functions 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.[61] 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.[62] The largest functions of the year are the Queen's Garden Parties for up to 8,000 invitees in the Garden.[63] Uninvited guests The boy Jones was an intruder who gained entry to the palace on three occasions between 1838 and 1841 as recorded by Charles Dickens some 40 years later.[64] In 1982, Michael Fagan was able to break into the palace twice, and conversed with the Queen on one of these occasions.[65] Reportedly, Her Majesty maintained her composure while the palace police were en route and Fagan made no threatening motions towards the Queen. The garden, the Royal Mews and the Mall At the rear of the palace is the large and park-like garden, which together with its lake is the largest private garden in London.[66] Here the Queen hosts her annual garden parties each summer, and also holds large functions to celebrate royal milestones, such as jubilees.

It covers 40 acres (16 ha), and includes a helicopter landing area, a lake, and a tennis court.[51] 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.[67] Also housed in the mews are the carriage horses used in royal ceremonial processions.[68] 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, across St James's Park to the Victoria Memorial.

This route is used by the cavalcades and motorcades of visiting heads of state, and by the royal family on state occasions such as the annual Trooping the Colour.[69] Modern history Visiting heads of state are received by the Queen at either Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. Here, United States President Barack Obama and his wife are greeted in the first-floor audience chamber in the private apartments in the north wing. 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 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.[70] 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.[71] 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.[72] 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.[73][74] 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.[75] 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.[76] 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 book published in 1999 by the Royal Collection Department reported that the palace contained 19 state rooms, 52 principal bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms.[77] This is actually small in comparison to the Russian imperial palaces in Saint Petersburg and at Tsarskoe Selo, the Papal Palace in Rome, the Royal Palace of Madrid, the Stockholm Palace, or indeed the former Palace of Whitehall, and tiny compared to the Forbidden City and Potala Palace. A minor change was made in 1938, in which the north-west pavilion, designed by Nash as a conservatory and altered in 1911–13 to a racquets court, 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 King imposed rationing at the palace, much to the dismay of his guests and household.[78] 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.[79] The palace fared worse during World War II; it was bombed no less than seven 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.[80] 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: By the Editor: The King and Queen have endured the ordeal which has come to their subjects. For the second time a German bomber has tried to bring death and destruction to the home of Their Majesties...When this war is over the common danger which King George and Queen Elizabeth have shared with their people will be a cherished memory and an inspiration through the years.[81] 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 choice 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.[82] The bomber's engine was later exhibited at the Imperial War Museum in London. The British pilot became a King's Messenger following the war, and died at the age of 90 in 2005.[83] On VE Day—8 May 1945—the palace was the centre of British celebrations. The King, Queen, Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen), and Princess Margaret appeared on the balcony, with the palace's blacked-out windows behind them, to the cheers from a vast crowd in the Mall.[84] The damaged Palace was carefully restored after the War by John Mowlem & Co.[85] 21st century: Royal use and public access 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, like Windsor Castle, is owned by the British state. It is not the monarch's personal property, unlike Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle.[86] Many of the contents from Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace and St. James's Palace are known collectively as the Royal Collection; owned by the Sovereign, they can, on occasions, be viewed by the public at the Queen's Gallery, near the Royal Mews. Unlike the palace and the castle, the gallery is open continually 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.

In May 2009, in response to a request from the Queen to the government for money to carry out a backlog of repairs to the palace, a group of MPs on the Public Accounts Committee proposed that in return for the extra £4 million in annual funds requested, the palace be open to the public more than the 60 days it is now, as well as when members of the royal family are in residence.[87] 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 completed by the Bromsgrove Guild in 1911[39] 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";[39] 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 Queen, Prince Philip, Duke of York, Earl and Countess of Wessex, Princess Royal, and Princess Alexandra, and is the workplace of 800 people.[88] Notes Jump up ^ "Buckingham". Collins Dictionary. n.d. Retrieved 23 September 2014. Jump up ^ "Palace". Collins Dictionary. n.d. Retrieved 23 September 2014. Jump up ^ By tradition, the British Royal Court is still officially resident at St. James's Palace, which means that, while foreign ambassadors assuming their new position are received by the British sovereign at Buckingham Palace, they are accredited to the "Court of St. James's Palace". This anomaly continues for the sake of tradition as Buckingham Palace is to all intents and purposes the official residence. See History of St James's Palace (Official website of the British Monarchy). ^ Jump up to: a b Robinson, p.

14 Jump up ^ Goring, p.15 Jump up ^ The topography of the site and its ownership are dealt with in Wright, chapters 1–4 Jump up ^ Goring, p.28 Jump up ^ Goring, p.18 Jump up ^ The Acquisition of the Estate, Survey of London: volume 39: The Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 1 (General History) (1977), pp. 1–5. Retrieved 3 February 2009 Jump up ^ Wright, pp. 76–8 Jump up ^ Goring, pp. 31&36 Jump up ^ Audley and Davies were key figures in the development of Ebury Manor and also the Grosvenor Estate (see Dukes of Westminster), which still exists today. (They are remembered in the streetnames North Audley Street, South Audley Street, and Davies Street, all in Mayfair.) Jump up ^ Wright, p. 83 Jump up ^ Goring, Chapter V ^ Jump up to: a b c Harris, p.21 Jump up ^ Wright, p.

96 Jump up ^ Goring, p.62 Jump up ^ Goring, p.58 Jump up ^ Harris, p.22 Jump up ^ Nash, p. 18, although the purchase price is given by Wright p. 142 as £28,000 Jump up ^ In 1775, an Act of Parliament settled the property on Queen Charlotte, in exchange for her rights to Somerset House (see Old and New London (below) Jump up ^ Westminster: Buckingham Palace, Old and New London: Volume 4 (1878), pp. 61–74. Date accessed: 3 February 2009. The tradition persists 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. Jump up ^ Harris, p.24 Jump up ^ Harris, pp.30–31 Jump up ^ Jones, p. 42 Jump up ^ Harris, p.33 Jump up ^ "The Royal Residences > Buckingham Palace > History". Retrieved 2 February 2009.

Jump up ^ Ziegler, Phillip (1971). King William IV. Collins. p. 280. ISBN 0-00-211934-X. Jump up ^ "The Royal Residences > Buckingham Palace". Retrieved 2 February 2009. Jump up ^ Hedley, p. 10 ^ Jump up to: a b Woodham-Smith, p. 249 Jump up ^ Harris, de Bellaigue & Miller, p. 33 Jump up ^ Holland & Hannen and Cubitts – The Inception and Development of a Great Building Firm, published 1920, p. 35 Jump up ^ Hedley, p. 19 Jump up ^ Healey, pp.137–138 Jump up ^ Healey, p.122 Jump up ^ Allen's Indian Mail, and Register of British and Foreign India, China, and all parts of the East. 1850, Vol. VIII.

Google Book link Jump up ^ John Gardiner The Victorians: An Age in Retrospect, London: Hambledon Continuum, 2007 [2002], p.142 ^ Jump up to: a b c Robinson, p. 9 Jump up ^ "40 facts about Buckingham Palace". Retrieved 18 October 2011. ^ Jump up to: a b Harris, p.41 Jump up ^ Harris, pp.78–79 Jump up ^ Healey, pp.387–388 Jump up ^ Harris, p.81 Jump up ^ Harris, p.40 Jump up ^ Healey, pp.159–160 Jump up ^ Harris, de Bellaigue & Miller, p. 93 Jump up ^ Harris, de Bellaigue & Miller, p. 91 Jump up ^ Jones, p. 43 ^ Jump up to: a b Harris, p.82. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Fact files > 40 facts about Buckingham Palace". Retrieved 18 October 2011.

Jump up ^ Healey, p.233, quoting The Memoirs of Mabell, Countess of Airlie, edited and arranged by Jennifer Ellis, London:Hutchinson, 1962. Jump up ^ Peacocke, pp. 178–179, 244–247 Jump up ^ Peacocke, pp. 264–265 Jump up ^ "Mailbox". Royal Insight Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 January 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2008. Jump up ^ Princess Margaret is reputed to have remarked of the débutante presentations: "We had to put a stop to it, every tart in London was getting in." See Blaikie, Thomas (2002). You look awfully like the Queen: Wit and Wisdom from the House of Windsor. London: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-714874-7 Jump up ^ Harris, p.72 ^ Jump up to: a b Healey, p.364 Jump up ^ Healey, p.362 Jump up ^ Hedley, p.

16 Jump up ^ Healey, pp. 363–365 Jump up ^ Robinson, p. 49 Jump up ^ The Guests Jump up ^ Dickens, Charles (5 July 1885) "The boy Jones", All the Year Round, pp. 234–37. Jump up ^ God Save the Queen, Fast Spencer Davidson and Arthur White Time Magazine 26 July 1982 Retrieved 3 February 2009 Jump up ^ Buckingham Palace at the Wayback Machine (archived May 2, 2008) (Museum of London.) Retrieved 2 May 2009. Jump up ^ Gold State Coach at the Royal Collection. Jump up ^ "The Royal Residences > The Royal Mews". Retrieved 2 February 2009. Jump up ^ Nicholson, Louise (1998). London. London: Frances Lincoln. p. 56. ISBN 0-7112-1187-6. Jump up ^ Robinson (Page 9) asserts that the decorations, including plaster swags and other decorative motifs, are "finicky" and "at odds with Nash's original detailing".

Jump up ^ Harris, p.34 Jump up ^ Healey, p.185 Jump up ^ "Buckingham Palace hits right note with jazz fans". London Evening Standard. UK. 3 August 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2010. Jump up ^ Stephen Bates (3 August 2009). "By royal approval: Buckingham Palace's place in jazz history". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 11 August 2010. Jump up ^ Healey pp. 221–222 Jump up ^ Harris, p.63 Jump up ^ Robinson, p. 11 Jump up ^ Rose, Kenneth (1983). King George V. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. pp. 176–177. ISBN 0-297-78245-2. Jump up ^ Rose, pp. 178–179 Jump up ^ Thornton, Michael (1984). Royal Feud. M.Joseph. p. 216. Jump up ^ The Sunday Graphic, 18 September 1939, p. 1 Jump up ^ Price, Alfred.

The Battle of Britain Day, Greenhill Books, London, 1990, pp. 49–50 and Stephen Bungay, The Most Dangerous Enemy: A History of the Battle of Britain. Aurum Press, London, 2000, p. 325. Jump up ^ "Pilot who 'saved Palace' honoured". BBC news website. 2 November 2005. Retrieved 18 March 2009. Jump up ^ 1945: Rejoicing at end of war in Europe (BBC On this day.) Retrieved 3 February 2009. Jump up ^ "Sir Edgar Beck". The Telegraph. 9 August 2000. Retrieved 5 June 2012. Jump up ^ There is no reliable public information about the formal ownership of Windsor castle and Buckingham palace. The official Internet site of the Royal Family only says they are "held in trust". They are however not among properties listed to belong to the Queen personally or to the Crown Estate. State ownership is widely assumed. Jump up ^ Pierce, Andrew (30 May 2009). "Queen must open palace more in return for extra funds".

The Daily Telegraph (UK). Retrieved 4 June 2009. Jump up ^ References Blaikie, Thomas (2002). You Look Awfully Like the Queen: Wit and Wisdom from the House of Windsor. London: Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-714874-7. Goring, O.G. (1937). From Goring House to Buckingham Palace. London:Ivor Nicholson & Watson. Harris, John; de Bellaigue, Geoffrey; & Miller, Oliver (1968). Buckingham Palace. London: Nelson. ISBN 0-17-141011-4. Healey, Edma (1997). The Queen's House: A Social History of Buckingham Palace. London: Penguin Group. ISBN 0-7181-4089-3. Hedley, Olwen (1971) The Pictorial History of Buckingham Palace. Pitkin, ISBN 0-85372-086-X. Jones, Nigel R. (2005). Architecture of England, Scotland, and Wales. Greenwood Publishing Group.

ISBN 0-313-31850-6. Nash, Roy (1980). Buckingham Palace: The Place and the People. London: Macdonald Futura. ISBN 0-354-04529-6. Peacocke, M. D. (1951). The Story of Buckingham Palace. London: Odhams Press. Robinson, John Martin (1999). Buckingham Palace. Published by The Royal Collection, St. James's Palace, London ISBN 1-902163-36-2. Williams, Neville (1971). Royal Homes. Lutterworth Press. ISBN 0-7188-0803-7. Woodham-Smith, Cecil (1973). Queen Victoria (vol 1) Hamish Hamilton Ltd. Wright, Patricia (1999; first published 1996). The Strange History of Buckingham Palace. Stroud, Gloucs.: Sutton Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7509-1283-9. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buckingham Palace.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Buckingham Palace. Buckingham Palace, Official website of the British monarchy Directory of Buckingham Palace's rooms for virtual navigation (high and low resolution) Geographic data related to Buckingham Palace at OpenStreetMap Buckingham Palace entry from The DiCamillo Companion to British & Irish Country Houses Account of Buckingham Palace, with prints of Arlington House and Buckingham House, from Edward Walford, Old and New London, Vol 4, Chap. VI (1878) Account of the acquisition of the Manor of Ebury, from F.H.W. Sheppard (ed.), Survey of London, vol. 39, "The Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair", part 1 (1977)

Question: Who was the first reigning British monarch to reside at Buckingham Palace?
Answer: Queen Victoria