Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace (UK: /ˈbʌkɪŋəm/)^[1] is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom.^[a][2] Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state. It occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focal point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and mourning.

Originally known as Buckingham House.  This building at the core of today’s palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703. On a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It  acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte.  Geogre became known as The Queen’s House. During the 19th century. It enlarged by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who constructed three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace became the London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.

The last major structural additions made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the East Front, which contains the well-known balcony on which the royal family traditionally appears to greet crowds. A German bomb destroyed the palace chapel during the Second World War; the Queen’s Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection.