There are many places to go sightseeing in central London. In this month’s Newsletter we’d like to introduce Buckingham Palace.
Built: 1705
Purpose: The official royal palace of the British monarch
Location: in the City of Westminster
Nearest tube station: Victoria (8 minutes), Green Park (8 minutes)
Surrounding landmarks: The Victoria Memorial, The Royal Mews, The Mall, St.James’s Park, St. James’s Palace
Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms. This includes 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. Approximately 450 people work at the palace. The building is 100m long (across the front), 120m deep, and 24m high.
The Palace from above
The State rooms are used regularly be the Queen and members of the Royal Family for official entertaining, such as when another King, Queen, Prime Minister or President makes a state visit. More than 50,000 people attend banquets, lunches, dinners and Royal Garden Parties every year.
The Ballroom is the largest room in the Palace. It’s often used for formal events.
The Ballroom
If you time your trip well you can go inside Buckingham Palace and see the State rooms, the ballrooms and the gardens. The palace is open from the 26th July to the 30th September from around 9:45am-6pm (the last admission is about 3:30pm).
It costs £16.50 for adults, £15 for over 60s, £9.50 for under 17s and it’s free for under 5s. A family ticket costs £44 (2 adults, 3 children)
Changing The Guard
The Changing the Guard ceremony takes place in front of Buckingham Palace at 11:30am every day in summer, and every 2 days in winter.
The New Guards march to the Palace with a Guards band and then there’s a short ceremony during which the guardsmen are changed and the old guards return to the barracks.
It’s a very interesting and colourful ceremony. The guards all wear their traditional uniforms, and the Guards band and accompanying horses make it a great chance to take some wonderful photographs.
You should try and get to Buckingham Palace before 11 o’clock though, so you can get a good position! The Changing the Guard ceremony is very popular!
The Guards wear grey in winter and red in the warmer months
The Victoria Memorial
The Victoria Memorial is a golden statue of Queen Victoria. It’s located in front of Buckingham Palace and faces down The Mall.
Standing at the top of the steps, and facing Buckingham Palace, is a great location for the Changing the Guard ceremony!
The Victoria Memorial during Changing the Guard ceremony
The Mall
The Mall is the road that runs from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square.
The road is coloured red, which makes it look like a long red carpet leading to Buckingham Palace.
On one side of the road is St. James’s Park, and on the other side is Green Park and St. James’s Palace. It’s nice to walk up and down The Mall, relax in the parks and take some great photographs of Buckingham Palace and the surrounding buildings.
The Mall is always used for State ceremonies. Stagecoaches and vehicles travel up and down The Mall, and huge crowds line the sides of The Mall to watch.
Looking up The Mall at the Victoria Memorial and Buckingham Palace
The Royal Mews
The Royal Mews is located around the corner from Buckingham Palace and it is where all the vehicles used by the Royal Family are kept. These vehicles are often seen during coronations, State visits and royal weddings.
All the horses that take part in official ceremonies are kept in the stables.
The Golden Stagecoach
The stagecoach William and Kate used during their wedding ceremony
You can visit the Royal Mews from March to December, 11:00am-4pm, but be careful as it’s sometimes closed on Fridays.
It costs £7.75 for adults, £7 for over 60s, £5 for under 17s and it’s free for under 5s. A family ticket costs £20.50 (2 adults, 3 children)
Did you know? – When a flag called the ‘Royal Standard’ is flying above Buckingham Palace, it means the King or Queen is at home!
