Royal Palaces - Buckingham Palace
The Official London Residence of the British Monarch
© Kim Rush
Oct 8, 2009
Buckingham Palace is located in the City of Westminster. The first house built on the site of Buckingham Palace was a townhouse designed by William Winde in 1702 for the Duke of Buckingham. The Duke was a former Lord Chamberlain. His wife was an illegitimate daughter of the future King James II. Buckingham House was built of brick and stone. In 1742 the house passed to Sir Charles Sheffield after the death of the Duchess.
The Queen's House
King George III bought the house from Sheffield in 1760 and it became known as “The Queen’s House.” Over the next decade, Sir William Chambers directed a renovation. The house was modernized and enlarged to accommodate the royal family.
King George IV
In 1820 King George IV succeeded his father. Four years later Parliament approved funds for the king to commission a new building. The King asked his favorite architect, John Nash, to design the building. Nash wanted to build an entirely new palace, but the King wanted Nash to enlarge Buckingham Palace instead because, the King claimed, Nash was too old to build something new.
Work on Buckingham Palace began in 1825, but was delayed because of frequent mind changes on the part of both Nash and the King. As a result, the cost of the enlargement greatly exceeded the original estimate. When the King died in 1830, Nash was dismissed and work stalled. During the reign of King William IV and Queen Mary II, Edward Blore was named architect. He continued in this position during the reign of Queen Victoria.
Royal Residence
Queen Victoria was the first sovereign to live at Buckingham Palace. King William IV died before the enlargement was complete. In 1840 she married Prince Albert and soon the palace’s inadequacies became apparent. A serious problem was the lack of nurseries. In addition, there were too few bedrooms for visitors. It was decided that a fourth wing was needed.
In 1911 the forecourt of the palace was formed. This forecourt is where the Changing the Guard ceremony takes place. In 1913 Sir Aston Webb was commissioned to reface the façade of the palace. He chose to use Portland Stone, which takes twelve months to prepare. Once it began, the refacing took only thirteen weeks to complete. During World War II, the palace was bombed seven times, the most serious of which destroyed the chapel. Today Buckingham Palace is nearly 830,000 square feet and contains 775 rooms.
Buckingham Palace Today
Buckingham Palace is a symbol of the British Monarchy. All official business takes place at the palace, including investitures, state banquets, garden parties, and family portraits. In addition to housing Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince of Edinburgh, the palace is also the London residence of the Duke of York and the Earl and Countess of Wessex. Three hundred staff live at Buckingham Palace, including more than 200 domestic staff. The Palace has a police station and post office. During the year more than 50,000 people are invited as guests to various functions at the palace.
Sources:
Hoey, Brian. Buckingham Palace. Andover: Pitkin Guides, 1990.
The Official Website of the British Monarchy. “Royal Residences: Buckingham Palace” (accessed October 5, 2009)
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