Visit Buckingham Palace

England is wonderful and exciting country to visit for a vacation. There are places of interest to visit to suit all tastes. There is the historic city of York which dates back to roman times, Liverpool, and Torquay known as the English Riviera. One place to visit that should not be missed in the capital city of London.

London is an amazing place to visit, either just for a weekend or longer. You would be surprised at how many people living in England have never visited London, especially when it is usually top of most visitors lists when they first visit England.

It is hard to know where to start when mentioning what places are worth visiting in London. The Tower of London is a fascinating place to start a tour of London with it’s macabre history and dungeons. Besides being most famous as a place of execution the Tower of London has also been used as a palace. The most famous palace in London is Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace has been the official London residence of the monarch since Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne in 1837. Over 50,000 people visit Buckingham Palace every year and these are as guests to lunches, dinners parties and Royal Garden Parties. Buckingham Palace is generally open to the public when the Queen is not in residence. (twice a year)

The palace began its’ days as the city residence of the Duke of Buckingham. The Duke commissioned the building of the house in 1703. The house was later sold to King George III, who bought ‘Buckingham House’ for his wife, Queen Charlotte.

Since its construction, Buckingham House, as it was then known, has been enlarged considerably. The architects responsible for most of its additions were John Nash and Edward Blore. The largest of the additions to the house were the three wings formed around a central courtyard

The famous architect Aston Webb was responsible for the building of the principal facade of Buckingham Palace which he re-designed in 1912. Webb along with the sculptor Sir Thomas Brock were the winners of a competition to design a memorial to Queen Victoria. This memorial is still seen today.

The Queen has many other residences besides Buckingham Palace. Some of the residences are ‘official’ residences and there are some which are ‘private’. One other famous, official royal residence in London is St. Jame’s Palace and once upon a time was the primary London royal residence. A favourite private residence with the Queen is Balmoral in Scotland. The Queen enjoys a relaxing holiday at Balmoral every August, and was there when she heard the grave news of Diana, Princess of Wales’, sad and untimely passing.

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