Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms, its own post office and a lake, yet Queen Victoria soon found it too small for her growing young family.
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Quick Facts
- Location
- Westminster, London, at the end of The Mall
- Built or opened
- Built from 1703 as Buckingham House; became the monarch's London residence in 1837
- Rooms
- 775, including 19 State Rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms and 188 staff bedrooms
- Architects
- William Winde, John Nash, Edward Blore, Aston Webb
- Garden
- About 39 acres, with a lake of roughly 3 acres
- Famous balcony
- Built as part of Blore's east-wing extension in 1847–49; first used for a royal balcony appearance in 1851. The current façade dates from 1913.
- Original owner
- John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham and Normanby
- Bought by the Crown
- 1761, by George III for his wife Queen Charlotte
A palace that began as a duke's townhouse
The most famous address in Britain started life as a private home. In 1703 John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, built Buckingham House on the edge of St James's Park, using the architect William Winde. George III bought it in 1761 for £21,000 as a comfortable family home for Queen Charlotte, close to but separate from the formal business of St James's Palace. Eleven of their fifteen children were born there. It was known as the Queen's House, not a palace at all.
The king who ran out of money
George IV inherited the house and wanted something grander. He hired John Nash, the man who had designed Regent Street and Regent's Park, to turn it into a palace. Nash's budget ballooned, and the project became a scandal. Nash was dismissed after George IV died in 1830, and Edward Blore finished the job. Nash did leave behind the creamy Bath stone and the sweeping State Rooms, but Parliament was not amused by the final bill.
Victoria moves in, and finds it lacking
Queen Victoria was the first monarch to live there, moving in shortly after her accession in 1837. It turned out to be flawed: the ventilation was poor, and after she married Prince Albert the building was soon too small for their growing family. Blore's solution was to enclose Nash's courtyard with a new east wing, which gave the palace its famous front facing The Mall. The marble arch Nash had designed for the entrance was moved to the northeast corner of Hyde Park, where it stands today as Marble Arch.
The face you know is barely a century old
That famous east front, with the balcony where the royal family waves, is not the original. The Caen stone of Blore's front had weathered badly in London's smoky air, so in 1913 it was refaced in Portland stone to a design by Aston Webb. The work was finished at remarkable speed, in just under three months while the royal family was away. At the same time, the Queen Victoria Memorial was built outside, giving the palace the ceremonial setting of the postcard view.
Palace myths and real surprises
The Changing of the Guard is not a pageant for tourists alone: the Foot Guards are real soldiers on real duty. The palace did not escape the Blitz, either. It was hit by bombs several times in the Second World War, including one that destroyed the chapel in 1940. The King and Queen were in residence at the time. The flag is another clue to what you are looking at. The Royal Standard flies when the monarch is in residence; the Union Flag flies when they are not. Behind the building lies one of London's largest private gardens, with a lake, a tennis court and hundreds of species of wildflower. It hosts the royal garden parties each summer.
What to look out for when you visit
Start at the Queen Victoria Memorial, then check which flag is flying. Stand at the gates and look across the forecourt to the east front, remembering that this façade is barely older than the First World War. The State Rooms open to visitors in the summer. Look for the Grand Staircase, the Throne Room and the Ballroom, which is the largest room in the palace, and where state banquets and investitures take place. The Royal Mews nearby shows the carriages and state coaches the palace still uses.
Notable people
- John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham and Normanby
- William Winde
- George III
- Queen Charlotte
- George IV
- John Nash
- Edward Blore
- Queen Victoria
- Aston Webb
Test yourself
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