History

Buckingham Palace was built in 1702 by the Duke of Buckingham as his London home. The house was then later sold to George III in 1761 by the Duke's son. In 1774 it was renamed "Queen's House" as Queen Charlotte resided there.

The Palace has of course seen many renovations and alterations, the first of which was in 1820 when Nash was commissioned by George IV. Nash, one of the foremost architects of the day added a new suite of rooms facing west into the garden, this doubled the size of the building. However the 'front' of the Palace, has remained virtually unchanged from the original design over 300 years ago.

Queen Victoria was the first monarch to take up residence in Buckingham Palace in 1837. Once again extensive changes took place. Today Buckingham Palace is used not only as the home of The Queen and her husband, The Duke of Edinburgh, but also for the administrative work for the monarchy. It is here in the state apartments that Her Majesty receives and entertains guests invited to the Palace.

Visiting Buckingham Palace

The State Rooms of the Palace are open to visitors during the Annual Summer Opening from late July to September. They are lavishly furnished with some of the greatest treasures from the Royal Collection - paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, Poussin, Canaletto and Claude; sculpture by Canova and Chantrey; exquisite examples of Sevres porcelain, and some of the finest English and French furniture in the world.

Buckingham Palace was opened to the Public for the first time in 1993, however it is still also the official London residence of the sovereign. You can always tell if the Queen is in residence, look at the flagpole on top of the Palace, if the flag is flying then 'the Queen is at home'!

The Palace opens at 9.30am and the last admission is 4.30pm. Buckingham Palace operates a timed-ticket system, with admission every 15 minutes throughout the day.

Text Courtesy :changing-the-guard.com
Image Courtesy :tourist-information-uk.com