Royal palaces and castles

Buckingham Palace

BuckinghamPalace has been the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837 and evolved from a town house that was owned, from the beginning of the eighteenth century, by the Dukes of Buckingham.
King George III bought Buckingham House in 1761 for his wife Queen Charlotte to use as a comfortable family home close to St James's Palace, where many court functions were held. Buckingham House became known as the Queen's House, and 14 of George III's 15 children were born there.
Queen Victoria was the first sovereign to take up residence in July 1837, just three weeks after her accession. Her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840 soon showed up the Palace's shortcomings. A serious problem for the newly married couple was the absence of any nurseries and too few bedrooms for visitors. The only solution was to move the Marble Arch - it now stands at the north-east corner of Hyde Park - and build a fourth wing, thereby creating a quadrangle.
The present Forecourt of the Palace, where Changing the Guard takes place, was formed in 1911, as part of the Victoria Memorial scheme. The North-Centre Gate is now the everyday entrance to the Palace, whilst the Central Gate is used for State occasions and the departure of the guard after Changing the Guard.

Changing of the guards

Since 1660, Household Troops have guarded the Sovereign and the Royal Palaces. Until 1689, the Sovereign lived mainly at the Palace of Whitehall and was guarded there by Household Cavalry.
In 1689, the court moved to St James's Palace, which was guarded by the Foot Guards. When Queen Victoria moved into Buckingham Palace in 1837, the Queen's Guard remained at St James's Palace, with a detachment guarding Buckingham Palace, as it still does today. When The Queen is in residence, there are four sentries at the front of the building; when she is away there are two.
The Changing of the Guard takes place in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace. The New Guard marches to the Palace from Wellington Barracks with a Guards band; the Old Guard hands over in a ceremony during which the sentries are changed and then returns to barracks. The New Guard then marches to St James's Palace, leaving the detachment at Buckingham Palace.

Since 1660, Household Troops have guarded the Sovereign and the Royal Palaces. Until 1689, the Sovereign lived mainly at the Palace of Whitehall and was guarded there by Household Cavalry.

In 1689, the court moved to St James's Palace, which was guarded by the Foot Guards. When Queen Victoria moved into Buckingham Palace in 1837, the Queen's Guard remained at St James's Palace, with a detachment guarding Buckingham Palace, as it still does today. When The Queen is in residence, there are four sentries at the front of the building; when she is away there are two.

The Changing of the Guard takes place in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace. The New Guard marches to the Palace from Wellington Barracks with a Guards band; the Old Guard hands over in a ceremony during which the sentries are changed and then returns to barracks. The New Guard then marches to St James's Palace, leaving the detachment at Buckingham Palace.

The working Palace
Besides being the official London residence of The Queen, Buckingham Palace is also the busy administrative headquarters of the monarchy and has probably the most famous and easily recognisable façade of any building in the world.
The Palace is a working building and the centrepiece of Britain's constitutional monarchy. It houses the offices of those who support the day-to-day activities and duties of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh and their immediate family. The Palace is also the venue for great Royal ceremonies, State Visits and Investitures, all of which are organised by the Royal Household.

Windsor Castle

For over 900 years there has been a castle at Windsor. William the Conqueror chose the site, high above the River Thames and on the edge of a Saxon hunting ground.
Nine centuries after its foundation, the Castle continues to perform its prime role as one of The Queen's official residences. Pivotal to this role are the State Apartments, which are the formal rooms used for Court ceremonial and State and official occasions. They range from the smaller intimate rooms of Charles II's Apartments to the vast area of the Waterloo Chamber, built to commemorate the famous victory over Napoleon in 1815.
Windsor Castle provides a step back into history, and within its precincts stands St George's Chapel, the resting place of 10 sovereigns. The Chapel is dedicated to the patron saint of the Order of the Garter, Britain's highest Order of Chivalry, and ranks among the finest examples of late medieval architecture in the United Kingdom.
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St. James's palace

The senior Palace of the Sovereign and still the 'Court' to which foreign Ambassadors and High Commissioners are accredited, St James's Palace was built between 1532 and 1540 by Henry VIII on the site of the Hospital of St James, Westminster. For over 300 years it was lived in by kings and queens of England. Queen Anne brought the court to St James's in 1702 after the disastrous fire which destroyed the Palace of Whitehall in 1698. It has remained the official residence of the Sovereign, although since the death of William IV in 1837 the Sovereign has lived at Buckingham Palace.
Today St James's Palace contains the London residences of The Prince of Wales, and Princess Alexandra and Sir Angus Ogilvy. The offices of The Prince of Wales, the Royal Collection, the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, and the Chapel Royal are all located in the Palace.

Kensington palace

In 1689 William III bought the Jacobean mansion originally known as Nottingham House from his Secretary of State, the Earl of Nottingham, and commissioned Christopher Wren to extend and improve the house. This included the construction of Royal Apartments for the King and Queen, a council chamber, the Chapel Royal and the Great Stairs. A private road was laid out from the Palace to Hyde Park Corner, wide enough for three or four carriages to travel abreast down it, part of which survives today as Rotten Row. Until the death of George II in 1760, Kensington Palace was the favourite residence of successive sovereigns.

Queen Victoria was born and brought up in the Palace and news of her accession in 1837 was brought to her there by the Lord Chamberlain and the Archbishop of Canterbury. It had been expected that Victoria would reign from either Kensington or St James's Palace but almost immediately she moved to Buckingham Palace and never again stayed at Kensington.
Today Kensington contains the offices and London residences of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester and The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Diana, Princess of Wales used to live in Kensington Palace and have her offices there.

Balmoral castle

Built in the fifteenth century, Balmoral Castle and the original estate were purchased for Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in 1852, but as the original castle was considered too small, a new castle was constructed on the site about 90 metres (100 yards) north from the old building. Prince Albert planned the grounds and helped with the design of the castle itself, which was completed in 1856.
The original Estate of Balmoral consisted of 4,500 hectares (over 11,000 acres) of hill, woodland and small tenant farms. Over the years, further land was acquired, expanding the area to about 20,000 hectares (just over 50,000 acres) at present.