The Buckingham Palace
The Buckingham Palace is located in the City of Westminster. It is the London administrative headquarters of the current monarch of the United Kingdom. The palace is the place of royal celebration of numerous state occasions. During the times of national rejoice and mourning, it is also the place of gathering of British people.
Good to know before visiting Buckingham Palace
The Buckingham Palace was originally known as the Buckingham House, which was constructed by Edward Blore, the construction finished in 1850. Moreover, the palace also underwent remodeling by Sir Aston Webb in 1913. The place houses a variety of collections of paintings, sculptures, gifts from other estates. Apart from this, every room has its extraordinary architecture and art work. It became the London residence of the British monarch with the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.
The palace is 108 meters (354 ft) long and 120 meters (390th) wide. It is 24 meters (79 ft) high and contains over 77 000 m2 (830 000 sq ft) of floor space! Its interior is definitely worth mentioning as it has 775 rooms, including 52 principal bedrooms, 19 state rooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. If you are planning to visit the place, you may be given an audio guide. Then you will be taken on a unforgettable tour of the history and purpose of each of the rooms.
Sometime you may feel astonished, interested or amused – a whole bunch of emotions. The Buckingham Palace also has its own cinema, post office, swimming pool, doctor’s surgery, jeweller’s workshop and London largest private garden, which is used to celebrate royal jubilees and hosts her Majesty’s annual garden parties every summer. In addition The Buckingham Palace garden has its own lake, tennis court and helicopter landing area. Every year about 50 000 invited guests are enjoy the garden parties, receptions, banquets and audiences. The Forecourt of the Buckingham Palace is a place where Changing of the Guard takes place. It is the famous tourist attraction every newcomer should experience. Moreover, another interesting part of the palace is The Royal Mews, which contains: carriage house, stables and garage, which was added recently. For the majority of the year, the Buckingham Palace stays open to the public. The whole tour itself, including the gardens, takes about 2 hours. Unfortunately, taking pictures is prohibited.
You probably would also like to visit Windsor Castle.
The most interesting facts according to Connect-Click:
- During World War II Buckingham Palace was bombed nine times. The most serious damage was done to the chapel in the bombing of 1940.
- There were at least 12 people, who broke into the palace. Michael Fagan did it even twice, reaching the Queen’s bedroom on the second occasion. Since 2007 trespassing of the palace grounds became a criminal offence.
