In 1761, George III bought Buckingham House for use as a private family home. He had the building remodelled and enlarged to suit the needs of wife Charlotte and their growing family; 14 of their 15 children were born at the home.

George VI continued with construction on the home after he took the throne, but in 1826 he decided to make it a palace instead of just a royal home. This became a massive project with ballooning costs that was finally finished by William IV in 1834.

The first monarch to call Buckingham Palace home was Queen Victoria who moved there in 1837, but unfortunately she found the heating and ventilation were dreadful and the staff were reportedly quite lazy and lax. By 1847 it was clear that their growing family needed yet another wing built onto the palace.

This was one of the last large scale additions to the palace and it was at this time that the iconic balcony from which the Royal Family greets the nation on momentous occasions was installed.

Buckingham Palace survived numerous bombings during World War II, although it did lose its chapel to bomb damage in 1940.

In 1993 the Royal Family decided to open Buckingham Palace to visitors in order to offset the costs to the nation of running the palace. They had always held public functions and events at the palace, but this would be the first time it was open for paying visitors.

Today, millions of people come from all over the world to see Buckingham Palace. It is still the official royal residence for the Queen and her family, but now it is also something of an art museum and exhibit venue for the Royal Collection.

Buckingham Palace Tours are quite popular with visitors, as is the Royal Gift Shop.

Buckingham Palace history has now become something that the public can enjoy.

Buckingham Palace

Address: Buckingham Palace Road, SW1A 1AA

Telephone: 020 7766 7300

Opening Times

26th July to 30 September: 9.45am-6pm (last admission 3.45pm)

Pricing

£16.50 (Adults), £15 (Concessions), £9.50 (Under 17s), FREE (Under 5s), £44 (Family)

Photo courtesy: jimg944

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