You should know that the royal palace is named after the Duke of Buckingham, who had a simple, red brick residence built here at the beginning of the 18th century. King George III bought it in 1762 as a residence for his consort, Queen Charlotte, who enriched it with furnishings and works of art from other royal palaces. But it was his successor George IV who transformed the palace into the official residence of the royal family, which had lived in St James's Palace before then. All that is left of the Neoclassical renovations are the rear section, towards the gardens, and the beautiful interior façade with porticoes and a loggia. Queen Victoria then had the garden enclosed with the two side wings to increase the number of rooms. And lastly, the front section of the palace was completely restored right before World War I.
As you can see, the central body of the palace is placed slightly forward, and has two symmetrical façade s at its sides. In the centre, above the archway leading to the courtyard, you can see the balcony where the royal family stands to salute the crowd, topped by the flagpole with the "Royal Standard", or official flag.
Including private apartments, utility rooms and reception rooms, Buckingham Palace has over seven hundred rooms in total; if you are in London in August and September you can visit about twenty of them, the so-called State Rooms. The Queen had the idea of opening the palace to the public in order to raise funds for the restoration of Windsor Castle, which had been damaged by a fire in 1993. The State Rooms look over the gardens and include the Blue Drawing Room, White Drawing Room, State Dining Room and Music Room. Some masterpieces from the royal family's private collections are displayed, including the world's most significant collection of Canaletto paintings. In the current Throne Room, decorated with red tapestries, white stucco and golden roses, you can see the twin thrones that were made for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953.
Year-round you can visit the Neoclassical stables, where the court's carriages and cars are parked, and the Queen's Gallery, where temporary exhibitions are set up to display works from the royal collections.
FUN FACT: a few years ago, a bunker was built in the palace to protect the royals from the dangers of Islamic terrorism. The Sunday Times wrote that the bunker had cost the British a great deal: a million pounds!
Language: English