Queen Elizabeth II, who died today, September 8, gave birth to Prince Charles and Prince Andrew at the Palace, and to this day, notices of royal births and deaths are still posted on the front gates for the public to read.
Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of the UK's sovereigns since 1837 and is now the Monarch's administrative headquarters. Although used for the numerous official events and receptions held by the Queen or King, the Palace's State Rooms are open to the public every summer.
Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms, including 19 state rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff rooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms. The building measures 108 meters wide, 120 meters deep (including the central quadrangle), and 24 meters high.
Today, Buckingham Palace is very much a working building and the centerpiece of the UK's constitutional monarchy, serving as the venue for many royal events and ceremonies, from entertaining foreign heads of state to celebrating achievements at investitures and receptions.
More than 50,000 people visit the Palace each year as guests at state banquets, luncheons, dinners, receptions, and garden parties. Her Majesty also holds weekly audiences with the Prime Minister and receives newly appointed foreign ambassadors at Buckingham Palace.
Receptions are held throughout the year to recognize the work of industry, government, charities, sport, the Commonwealth and many more areas of life.
The Palace is often a focal point for important national celebrations and commemorations.
In 2002, a music concert was organized in the garden to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee, which included an unforgettable performance of Brian May's 'God Save The Queen' from the roof of the Palace, and at Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012, members of the public were invited to have a special picnic in the garden.
The balcony of Buckingham Palace is one of the most famous in the world. The first recorded royal appearance took place in 1851, when Queen Victoria stepped onto it during the celebrations for the opening of the Great Exhibition. Since then, appearances there have marked many occasions, from the annual official celebrations of the Queen's birthday, whose death was announced today, to watching the RAF flypast at the end of Trooping the Colour, Royal Weddings, as well as special events of national importance such as the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
While the Palace is considered the administrative center of the Monarchy, it is also very much a family home, as well as housing The Queen's Gallery and the Royal Mews. The Queen gave birth to Prince Charles and Prince Andrew at the Palace, and to this day, notices of royal births and deaths are still posted on the front gates for members of the public to read. The christenings of the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York, and Prince William took place in the Music Room, and many royal weddings have been held there, most recently that of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The offices of those who support the daily activities and duties of the Reign and his immediate family, such as the Office of the Privy Secretary and the Privy Purser and Treasurer's Office, are located in Buckingham Palace.
Their story
George III bought Buckingham House in 1761 for his wife, Queen Charlotte, to use as a comfortable family home near St. James's Palace, where many court functions took place. Buckingham House became known as the Queen's House, and 14 of George III's 15 children were born there.
George IV, upon ascending the throne in 1820, decided to rebuild the house into a pied-à-terre, using it for the same purpose as his father George III.
As work progressed, and until the end of 1826, the king changed his mind. With the help of his architect, John Nash, he set about transforming the house into a palace. Parliament agreed to a budget of 150,000 pounds sterling, but the king pressed for 450,000 pounds sterling as a more realistic figure. Nash retained the main block but doubled its size by adding a new set of rooms on the west-facing garden side. Against the backdrop of the smooth Bath stone, the exterior style reflected the French Neoclassical influence favored by George IV.
The remodeled rooms are the state and semi-state rooms, which have remained virtually unchanged since Nash's time.
The north and south wings of Buckingham House were demolished and rebuilt on a larger scale with a triumphal arch, the Marble Arch, as the centerpiece of an enlarged courtyard, to commemorate British victories at Trafalgar and Waterloo.
By 1829, costs had ballooned to nearly half a million pounds. Nash's extravagance cost him his job, and upon the death of George IV in 1830, his younger brother, William IV, hired Edward Blore to complete the work. The King never moved into the Palace. In fact, when the Houses of Parliament were destroyed by fire in 1834, the King offered the Palace as the new home for Parliament, but the offer was declined.
Queen Victoria was the first sovereign to take up residence in July 1837, and in June 1838 she was the first British monarch to leave Buckingham Palace for a coronation. Her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840 soon highlighted the Palace's shortcomings.
A major problem for the newlyweds was the lack of nurseries and very few bedrooms for visitors. The only solution was to move Marble Arch, which now stands in the northeast corner of Hyde Park, and build a fourth wing, thus creating a quadrangle. The cost of the new wing was largely covered by the sale of George IV's Royal Pavilion in Brighton.
Blore added an attic floor to the main block of the Palace and decorated its exterior with marble friezes originally intended for Nash's Marble Arch. The work was completed in 1847. By the turn of the century, the smooth French stone used on Blore's eastern front was showing signs of deterioration, largely due to London's notorious soot, and required replacement.
In 1913, the decision was made to clad the facade. Sir Aston Webb, with a number of large public buildings to his credit, was commissioned to create a new design. Webb chose Portland Stone, which took 12 months to prepare before construction work could begin. When work started, it took 13 weeks to complete the cladding, a process that included removing the old stonework.
The current Palace esplanade, where the Changing of the Guard takes place, was formed in 1911, as part of the Victoria Memorial scheme.
The gates and railings were also completed in 1911; the North-Center Gate is now the daily entrance to the Palace, while the Central Gate is used for state occasions and the departure of the guard after the changing of the guard. The work was completed just before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.
Visiting the Palace
Buckingham Palace is open to the public during the summer months and for a limited number of visits in December, January and Easter each year.
At the rear of the property lies the largest garden in the City of London, where over 8,000 guests gathered for the tea parties hosted by Queen Elizabeth. The garden itself covers 40 acres and also features a helipad, a tennis court, and a lake.
Source: Official Website
Wikipedia
