Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch and the largest "working" royal palace remaining in the world. The expression "Buckingham Palace" or simply "The Palace" has become a common way of referring to the source of press statements coming from parts of the British Royal Family. In addition to being the London home of HM Queen Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace is a setting for state occasions, royal entertaining and base for all officially visiting heads of state, and is a major tourist attraction. It has been a rallying point for the British at times of national rejoicing and crisis.

History

Early history

The first house recorded on the site of the present palace was known as Goring House, built by the Lord Goring circa 1633. However, the house which forms the nucleus of the present palace was built for the Duke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1703. Buckingham had the house rebuilt by the architect William Winde. The style chosen was of a large, three-floored central block with two smaller flanking service wings.

Related Topics:
Lord Goring - 1633 - Nucleus - Duke of Buckingham and Normanby - 1703 - William Winde

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Buckingham's house was eventually sold by his descendant, Sir Charles Sheffield, in 1762 to King George III. The house was originally intended as a private retreat for the Royal Family, and in particular Queen Charlotte, George III's consort, rather than as an official royal palace. The official and ceremonial royal residence remained at St. James's Palace; indeed, today foreign ambassadors are still accredited to the Court of St. James's, even though it is at Buckingham Palace they present their credentials and staff to the Queen on their appointment.

Related Topics:
1762 - Queen Charlotte - St. James's Palace - Ambassador - Court of St. James's

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House to palace

Queen Charlotte died in 1818 and her mentally unstable husband George III in 1820. Immediately, their son, the spendthrift King George IV, decided to enlarge Buckingham House to use in conjunction with St. James's Palace as had his father, but by 1826 he had decided to convert the house to a fully equipped, official royal palace. He commissioned John Nash to create this vision. The palace which arose surrounded three sides of a large quadrangle, with the former Buckingham House at its centre. The new work was faced in Bath stone, with exquisite detailing in the French neoclassical style. This is the palace much as it is today, but without the great east front, facing The Mall, which now encloses the quadrangle. On the future site of the present east front, between the two projecting wings, was a colossal triumphal arch of Racaccione marble, modelled on the Arch of Constantine in Rome. This arch, which had cost £34,450 to erect, served as the state entrance. George IV had intended it to be crowned by a bronze equestrian statue of himself, but he died before its completion, and when Parliament reluctantly paid the bill for it, they decided to erect it in Trafalgar Square. The interiors of the palace were to be of unparalleled splendour. George IV was advised on the interior design by Sir Charles Long, who advocated the widespread use of brightly coloured scagliola and blue and pink lapis, with sculptured plaster panels set in the ceilings. George IV died in 1830, and the colourful and heavily gilded present state and semi-state rooms were not completed until the reign of King William IV, a man of simpler tastes, and his wife, Queen Adelaide.

Related Topics:
1818 - 1820 - Spendthrift - King George IV - 1826 - John Nash - Bath - French - Neoclassical - The Mall - Racaccione - Marble - Arch of Constantine - Rome - £ - Bronze - Parliament - Trafalgar Square - Charles Long - Scagliola - Lapis - King William IV - Adelaide

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By the time of the death of George IV, the escalating cost of the still unfinished palace was causing concern in both Parliament and the press. William IV dismissed Nash as architect and employed Edward Blore, who suited admirably the more restrained tastes of the new king. A less idealistic but more businesslike architect than Nash, he retained Nash's completed work and completed the palace in a similar, if more solid and less picturesque, vein. Though the new King and Queen held receptions and courts in the state rooms, they never lived in the palace, preferring to remain at Clarence House, the more modest London mansion they had commissioned to be built before their succession. The final cost to the nation of rebuilding Buckingham Palace was in excess of £719,000. It is interesting to note that when the Houses of Parliament burnt down in 1834, the King offered the incomplete palace to the nation as a replacement seat of government, an offer which suggests the new King was rather less taken with the ornate palace than his late brother. The offer was declined, however, and the old Palace of Westminster rebuilt.

Related Topics:
Edward Blore - Clarence House - Mansion - Houses of Parliament - 1834

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Many of the smaller reception rooms were furnished at this time, as they still are, in the Chinese regency style, as many of the fireplaces, decorations, and furniture were brought from the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and from Carlton House, the palaces of George IV, following his death.

Related Topics:
Chinese - Regency - Royal Pavilion - Brighton - Carlton House

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Queen Victoria

Buckingham Palace finally became the principal Royal residence in 1837 on the accession of Queen Victoria. While the state rooms were a riot of gilt and colour, the necessities of the new palace were somewhat less luxurious. It was reported the chimneys smoked so much that the fires had to be allowed to die, and consequently the court shivered in icy magnificence. Ventilation was so bad that the interior smelled, and when a decision was taken to install gas lamps there was a serious worry about the build up of gas on the lower floors. It was also said that the staff were lax and lazy and the palace was dirty. Following the Queen's marriage to Prince Albert in 1838, her husband concerned himself with a reorganization of the household offices and staff, and the design faults of the palace. The problems were attended to and the builders finally left the palace in 1840.

Related Topics:
1837 - Queen Victoria - Prince Albert - 1838 - 1840

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The large wing facing east towards The Mall (today the 'public face' of Buckingham Palace) was constructed after the marriage of Queen Victoria. By 1847, the couple had found the palace too small for court life and their growing family, and as a result the new wing, designed by William IV's architect Edward Blore, was built, enclosing the quadrangle which is the centre of the palace. This new wing contains the balcony from which the Royal Family acknowledge the crowds on momentous occasions. The ballroom wing and a further suite of state rooms were also built in this period, designed by Nash's student Sir James Pennethorne.

Related Topics:
The Mall - 1847 - Royal Family - Ballroom - James Pennethorne

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Before the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria was known to love music and dancing, and the great musicians of the day were commanded to play at Buckingham Palace. Felix Mendelssohn is known to have played there on three occasions. Johann Strauss II and his orchestra played there when in England. Strauss' 'Alice Polka' was first performed at the palace in 1849 in honour of the Queen's daughter Princess Alice. During this era Buckingham Palace was frequently the scene of lavish costume balls, in addition to the routine royal ceremonies, investitures and presentations.

Related Topics:
Felix Mendelssohn - Johann Strauss II - Orchestra - 1849 - Princess Alice

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Queen Victoria had Marble Arch, the former state entrance to the palace, moved to its present position near Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park. Following the death of Prince Albert in 1862, the Queen withdrew from public life and left Buckingham Palace to live at Windsor Castle, Balmoral Castle, and Osborne House. For many years the palace was seldom used, and even neglected. Eventually mounting negative public opinion forced the widowed queen to return to London, though even then she preferred to live elsewhere whenever possible. Court functions continued to be held at Windsor Castle rather than at the palace, presided over by the sombre Queen habitually dressed in mourning black.

Related Topics:
Marble Arch - Speakers' Corner - Hyde Park - 1862 - Windsor Castle - Balmoral Castle - Osborne House

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The 20th century

In 1901 the accession of Edward VII saw new life breathed into the palace. The new King and his wife Queen Alexandra had always been at the forefront of London high society, and their friends, known as the Marlborough House set, were considered to be the most eminent and fashionable of the age. Buckingham Palace—the Ballroom, Grand Entrance, Marble Hall, Grand Staircase, vestibules and galleries redecorated in the Belle epoque cream and gold colour scheme they retain today—once again became the focal point of the British Empire and a setting for entertaining on a majestic scale. Many people feel King Edward's heavy redecoration of the palace does not complement Nash's original work.{{ref|redecorationEdwardVII}} However, it has been allowed to remain for one hundred years.

Related Topics:
1901 - Edward VII - Queen Alexandra - Marlborough House - Belle epoque - British Empire

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The last major building work took place during the reign of King George V when, in 1913, Sir Aston Webb redesigned the famous east, principal, 1850 facade by Blore to resemble in part Giacomo Leoni's Lyme Park in Cheshire. This new, refaced principal facade (of Portland stone) was designed to be the backdrop to the Victoria Memorial, a large memorial statue of Queen Victoria, placed outside the main gates. George V, who had succeeded Edward VII in 1911, had a more serious personality than his father, which was reflected in life at the palace: greater emphasis was now placed on official entertaining and royal duties than on lavish parties and having fun. George V's wife Queen Mary was a connoisseur of the arts, and took a keen interest in the Royal collection of furniture and art, both restoring and adding to it. Queen Mary also had many new fixtures and fittings installed, such as the pair of marble Empire-style chimneypieces by Benjamin Vulliamy, dating from 1810, which the Queen had installed in the ground floor Bow Room, the huge low room at the centre of the garden facade. Queen Mary was also responsible for the decoration of the Blue Drawing Room. This room, 21 metres long, previously known as the South Drawing Room, has one of Nash's finest ceilings, coffered with huge gilt console brackets, and is referred to by the author and historian Olwen Hedley in his book Buckingham Palace as the most beautiful in the palace, grander and more lavish than either the Throne Room or the Ball Room, which was built to take over the Blue Drawing Room's original function.

Related Topics:
King George V - 1913 - Sir Aston Webb - 1850 - Giacomo Leoni - Lyme Park - Cheshire - Portland stone - Victoria Memorial - 1911 - Queen Mary - Connoisseur - Empire-style - Benjamin Vulliamy - 1810 - Metre - Console - Olwen Hedley - Throne Room

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Following the last major extension in 1850, the palace consisted (as it does today) of 19 state rooms, 52 principal bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms. While this may seem large, it is small compared with the Tsar's palaces in St. Petersburg and at Tsarskoe Selo, the Papal Palace in Rome, the Royal Palace of Madrid, or indeed the former Palace of Whitehall. A minor extension was made in 1938, in which the north-west pavilion, designed by Nash, was converted into a swimming pool.

Related Topics:
1850 - Tsar - St. Petersburg - Tsarskoe Selo - Papal Palace - Rome - Royal Palace of Madrid - Palace of Whitehall - 1938

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World War

During World War I the Palace, then the home of King George V and Queen Mary, escaped unscathed. Its more valuable contents were evacuated to Windsor but the Royal family remained in situ. The largest change to court life at this time was that the Government persuaded the King to ostentatiously and publicly lock the wine cellars and refrain from alcohol for the duration of the war, to set a good example to the supposedly inebriated lower classes. The lower classes continued to imbibe and the King was left reputedly furious at his enforced abstinence. Edward VIII later told a biographer that his father had a furtive glass of port each evening, while the Queen secretly laced her fruit cup with champagne. The King's children were photographed at this time serving tea to wounded officers in the adjacent Royal Mews.

Related Topics:
World War I - Champagne

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During World War II the Palace fared worse: it was bombed no less than seven times, and was a deliberate target, as it was thought by the Nazis that the destruction of Buckingham Palace would demoralise the nation. One bomb fell in the palace quadrangle while King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were in residence, but while many windows were blown in, no serious damage was reported. However, war time coverage of such incidents was severely restricted. The most serious and publicised bombing was the destruction of the Palace chapel in 1940: coverage of this event was played in cinemas all over England to show the common suffering of rich and poor. The King and Queen were filmed inspecting their bombed home, the smiling Queen immaculate in a hat and matching coat. It was at this time the Queen made her famous quote: "I'm glad we have been bombed. Now I can look the East End in the face". It has only recently been reported that on some trips, prior to this event, to inspect the London bomb damage, the Royal family were booed rather than cheered as was reported at the time, hence the bombing of the palace was a propaganda coup for the British establishment. It has however been observed that it was the Minister accompanying the Royal family who was the subject of public hostility rather than the King and Queen themselves. As The Sunday Graphic dutifully reported:-

Related Topics:
World War II - Nazi - Propaganda - The Sunday Graphic

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::By the Editor: The King and Queen have endured the ordeal which has come to their subjects. For the second time a German bomber has tried to bring death and destruction to the home of Their Majesties……..When this war is over the common danger which King George and Queen Elizabeth have shared with their people will be a cherished memory and an inspiration through the years".

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On September 15, 1940 an RAF pilot, Ray Holmes, {{fn|(2)}} rammed a German plane attempting to bomb the palace. Holmes had run out of ammunition and made the a quick choice to ram it. Both planes crashed and their pilots survived. This incident was captured on film. The plane's engine was later exhibited at the Imperial War Museum in London. Following the war the British pilot became a King's Messenger. He died at the age of 90 in 2005.

Related Topics:
September 15 - Ray Holmes - King's Messenger

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Eleanor Roosevelt was accorded the status of visiting head of state during her World War II visit. The British war-time press, anxious to show the monarchs sharing the hardships of their subjects, announced that as the contents of the palace had been evacuated to the country for the duration of the war, as an honoured guest Mrs. Roosevelt was "billeted" in the only comfortable room remaining, Queen Elizabeth's own bedroom. However, as it is now known that for the duration of World War II the Royal Family slept, for safety, many nights at Windsor Castle, returning to use the palace during the day; it is possible this story is apocryphal. It is unlikely they would have left Mrs. Roosevelt in the empty palace to face the nightly blitz alone.

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On VE Day (May 8, 1945), the Palace was the centre of British celebrations, with the King, Queen and the Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen, and Princess Margaret appearing on the balcony, with the palace's blacked-out windows behind them, to the cheers from a vast crowd in the Mall.

Related Topics:
VE Day - May 8 - 1945 - Princess Margaret - The Mall

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