Buckingham
Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain’s Kings
and Queens since 1837. Built by George VI on the site of the King’s
House, Pimlico, the shell of which was preserved by Nash, the
architect. Marble Arch once stood in front, but it was later removed to
the western end of Oxford Street where the famous Tyburn Gallows once
stood. When Queen Victoria moved here in 1837, just 10 years after the
works had been carried out, it was barely habitable. There are 600
rooms in the Palace, of which under twenty can be visited, as well as
the Queen’s Picture gallery and the Mews.

It originated as a town house that was owned from the
beginning of the eighteenth century by the Dukes of Buckingham. Today
it is The Queen’s official residence. It is regularly on the top ten
lists of worse places to visit by those that have, but still draws huge
numbers of those that haven’t. Some say that it is a nice place to view
from the outside, though the crowds can be horrendous. If the Royal
Standard is flying over the palace then the Queen’s in residence.

Although in use for the many official events and
receptions held by the Queen, areas of Buckingham Palace are opened to
visitors on a regular basis. The Palace is also the venue for great
Royal ceremonies, State Visits and Investitures, all of which are
organised by the Royal Household. Besides being the official London
residence of the Queen, it is also the administrative headquarters of
the Monarchy, including the offices of those who support the day-to-day
activities and duties of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh and their
immediate family.

The State Rooms of the Palace are open to visitors
during the Annual Summer Opening in August and September. They are
lavishly furnished with items from the Royal Collection including
paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, Poussin, Canaletto and Claude;
sculpture by Canova and Chantrey; examples of Sèvres
porcelain; and some of the finest English and French furniture in the
world. Visits to Buckingham Palace can be combined with visits to The
Queen’s Gallery, which reopened in May 2002. The nearby Royal Mews is
open from 5 March to 31 October 2005.

For those who do receive an invitation to Buckingham
Palace, the first step across the threshold is into the Grand Hall and
up the curving marble stairs of the Grand Staircase. Portraits are
still set in the walls, as they were by Queen Victoria. The Throne
Room, sometimes used during Queen Victoria’s reign for Court gatherings
and as a second dancing room, is dominated by a huge arch supported by
a pair of winged figures of ‘victory’ holding garlands above the
‘chairs of state’. It is in the Throne Room that the Queen, on special
occasions like Jubilees, receives loyal addresses. Another use of the
Throne Room has been for formal wedding photographs.

George IV’s original palace lacked a large room in
which to entertain. Queen Victoria rectified that shortcoming by adding
in 1853-5 what was, at the time of its construction, the largest room
in London. It is 22 feet long, 60 feet wide and 45 feet high, the
Ballroom is the largest multi-purpose room in Buckingham Palace. It was
opened in 1856 with a ball to celebrate the end of the Crimean War. The
Ballroom has been used variously as a concert hall for memorial
concerts and performances of the arts and it is the regular venue for
Investitures of which there are usually 21 a year – nine in spring, two
in the summer and ten in the autumn. At Investitures, the Queen (or the
Prince of Wales as her representative) will meet recipients of British
honours and give them their awards, including knighting those who have
been awarded knighthoods.

It is along the East Gallery that the Queen and her
State guests process to the Ballroom for the State Banquet normally
held on the first day of the visit. Around 150 guests are invited and
include members of the Royal family, the government and other political
leaders, High Commissioners and Ambassadors and prominent people who
have trade or other associations with the visiting country. Today, it
is used by the Queen for State banquets and other formal occasions such
as the annual Diplomatic Reception attended by 1,500 guests. This is a
very formal occasion during which The Queen will meet every head of
mission accredited to the Court of St James’s. For the diplomats it is
perhaps the highlight of the annual diplomatic social calendar.

From the Ballroom, the West Gallery, with its four
Gobelin tapestries, leads into the first of the great rooms that
overlook lawn and the formal gardens – setting for the annual Garden
Parties introduced by Queen Victoria in 1868.

The State Dining Room is one of the principal State
Rooms on the West side of the Palace. Many distinguished people have
dined in this room including the 24 holders of the Order of Merit as
well as presidents and prime ministers.

Before the Ballroom was added to the Palace in the
1850s, the first State Ball was held in the Blue Drawing Room in May
1838 as part of the celebrations leading up to Queen Victoria’s
Coronation.

The Music Room was originally known as the Bow Drawing
Room and is the centre of the suite of rooms on the Garden Front
between the Blue and the White Drawing Rooms.

Four Royal babies – The Prince of Wales, The Princess
Royal, The Duke of York and Prince William – were all christened by the
Archbishop of Canterbury in the Music Room. One of its more formal uses
is during a State Visit when guests are presented to The Queen, The
Duke of Edinburgh and the visiting Head of State or for receptions.

The last of the suite of rooms overlooking the gardens
on the principal floor is the White Drawing Room. Originally called the
North Drawing Room, it is perhaps the grandest of all the State Rooms.
The Room also serves as a Royal reception room for The Queen and
members of the Royal family to gather before State and official
occasions.

The Bow Room is familiar to the many thousands of
guests to Royal Garden Parties who pass through it on their way to the
garden. It was originally intended as a part of George IV’s private
apartments – to be the King’s Library – but it was never fitted up as
such. Instead, it has become another room for entertaining and is where
The Queen holds the arrival lunch for a visiting Head of State at the
start of a State visit.

If you are looking for a job at Buckingham Palace, they
are regularly advertised on the official website: https://www.rct.uk/visit/buckingham-palace