Buckingham Palace

1760

This rococo gilt coach, designed by Sir William Chambers in 1760, has painted panels by G.

1761

It was acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as The Queen's House.

It was eventually sold by Buckingham's illegitimate son, Sir Charles Sheffield, in 1761 to George III for £21,000.

1762

Remodelling of the structure began in 1762.

It was first used for the State Opening of Parliament by George III in 1762 and has been used by the monarch for every coronation since George IV.

1774

Sheffield's leasehold on the mulberry garden site, the freehold of which was still owned by the royal family, was due to expire in 1774. ===From Queen's House to palace (1761–1837)=== Under the new royal ownership, the building was originally intended as a private retreat for George III's wife, Queen Charlotte, and was accordingly known as The Queen's House.

1775

In 1775, an Act of Parliament settled the property on Queen Charlotte, in exchange for her rights to nearby Somerset House, and 14 of her 15 children were born there.

1789

Some furnishings were transferred from Carlton House and others had been bought in France after the French Revolution of 1789.

1791

While St James's Palace remained the official and ceremonial royal residence, the name "Buckingham-palace" was used from at least 1791. After his accession to the throne in 1820, George IV continued the renovation intending to create a small, comfortable home.

1810

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 façade.

1811

On these occasions, for up to 170 guests in formal "white tie and decorations", including tiaras, the dining table is laid with the Grand Service, a collection of silver-gilt plate made in 1811 for the Prince of Wales, later George IV.

1817

The Yellow Drawing Room has wallpaper supplied in 1817 for the Brighton Saloon, and a chimney piece which is a European vision of how the Chinese chimney piece may appear.

1820

While St James's Palace remained the official and ceremonial royal residence, the name "Buckingham-palace" was used from at least 1791. After his accession to the throne in 1820, George IV continued the renovation intending to create a small, comfortable home.

The ornate clock, known as the Kylin Clock, was made in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, China, in the second half of the 18th century; it has a later movement by Benjamin Vulliamy circa 1820.

1826

However, in 1826, while the work was in progress, the King decided to modify the house into a palace with the help of his architect John Nash.

1829

The cost of the renovations grew dramatically, and by 1829 the extravagance of Nash's designs resulted in his removal as the architect.

1830

On the death of George IV in 1830, his younger brother William IV hired Edward Blore to finish the work.

1834

After the Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire in 1834, he offered to convert Buckingham Palace into a new Houses of Parliament, but his offer was declined. ===Queen Victoria (1837–1901)=== Buckingham Palace became the principal royal residence in 1837, on the accession of Queen Victoria, who was the first monarch to reside there; her predecessor William IV had died before its completion.

1837

Buckingham Palace became the London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. The last major structural additions were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the East Front, which contains the well-known balcony on which the British royal family traditionally congregates to greet crowds.

After the Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire in 1834, he offered to convert Buckingham Palace into a new Houses of Parliament, but his offer was declined. ===Queen Victoria (1837–1901)=== Buckingham Palace became the principal royal residence in 1837, on the accession of Queen Victoria, who was the first monarch to reside there; her predecessor William IV had died before its completion.

1838

This route is used by the cavalcades and motorcades of visiting heads of state, and by the royal family on state occasions—such as the annual Trooping the Colour. ==Security breaches== The boy Jones was an intruder who gained entry to the palace on three occasions between 1838 and 1841.

1840

Following the Queen's marriage in 1840, her husband, Prince Albert, concerned himself with a reorganisation of the household offices and staff, and with addressing the design faults of the palace.

By the end of 1840, all the problems had been rectified.

1841

This route is used by the cavalcades and motorcades of visiting heads of state, and by the royal family on state occasions—such as the annual Trooping the Colour. ==Security breaches== The boy Jones was an intruder who gained entry to the palace on three occasions between 1838 and 1841.

1844

Some of the rooms are named and decorated for particular visitors, such as the 1844 Room, decorated in that year for the state visit of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, and the 1855 Room, in honour of the visit of Emperor Napoleon III of France.

1847

However, the builders were to return within the decade. By 1847, the couple had found the palace too small for court life and their growing family and a new wing, designed by Edward Blore, was built by Thomas Cubitt, enclosing the central quadrangle.

The Queen and Prince Philip use a smaller suite of rooms in the north wing. Between 1847 and 1850, when Blore was building the new east wing, the Brighton Pavilion was once again plundered of its fittings.

1850

The Queen and Prince Philip use a smaller suite of rooms in the north wing. Between 1847 and 1850, when Blore was building the new east wing, the Brighton Pavilion was once again plundered of its fittings.

1854

In 1936, the suite briefly became the private apartments of the palace when King Edward VIII occupied them. ==Court ceremonies== Investitures, which include the conferring of knighthoods by dubbing with a sword, and other awards take place in the palace's Ballroom, built in 1854.

1855

Some of the rooms are named and decorated for particular visitors, such as the 1844 Room, decorated in that year for the state visit of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, and the 1855 Room, in honour of the visit of Emperor Napoleon III of France.

1861

Under Victoria, Buckingham Palace was frequently the scene of lavish costume balls, in addition to the usual royal ceremonies, investitures and presentations. Widowed in 1861, the grief-stricken Queen withdrew from public life and left Buckingham Palace to live at Windsor Castle, Balmoral Castle and Osborne House.

1864

In 1864, a note was found pinned to the fence of Buckingham Palace, saying: "These commanding premises to be let or sold, in consequence of the late occupant's declining business." Eventually, public opinion persuaded the Queen to return to London, though even then she preferred to live elsewhere whenever possible.

1873

This is a Chinese-style saloon enhanced by Queen Mary, who, working with the designer Sir Charles Allom, created a more "binding" Chinese theme in the late 1920s, although the lacquer doors were brought from Brighton in 1873.

1901

Court functions were still held at Windsor Castle, presided over by the sombre Queen habitually dressed in mourning black, while Buckingham Palace remained shuttered for most of the year. ===Early 20th century (1901–1945)=== In 1901, the new king, Edward VII, began redecorating the palace.

1910

George V, who had succeeded Edward VII in 1910, had a more serious personality than his father; greater emphasis was now placed on official entertaining and royal duties than on lavish parties.

1911

Behind the gilded railings and gates that were completed by the Bromsgrove Guild in 1911 and Webb's famous façade, which has been described in a book published by the Royal Collection Trust as looking "like everybody's idea of a palace", is not only a weekday home of Elizabeth II, but also the London residence of the Duke of York and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

During investitures, the Queen stands on the throne dais beneath a giant, domed velvet canopy, known as a shamiana or a baldachin, that was used at the Delhi Durbar in 1911.

Also housed in the mews are the coach horses used at royal ceremonial processions. The Mall, a ceremonial approach route to the palace, was designed by Sir Aston Webb and completed in 1911 as part of a grand memorial to Queen Victoria.

1914

He arranged a series of command performances featuring jazz musicians such as the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (1919; the first jazz performance for a head of state), Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong (1932), which earned the palace a nomination in 2009 for a (Kind of) Blue Plaque by the Brecon Jazz Festival as one of the venues making the greatest contribution to jazz music in the United Kingdom. During the First World War, which lasted from 1914 until 1918, the palace escaped unscathed.

At least 12 people have managed to gain unauthorised entry into the palace or its grounds since 1914, including Michael Fagan, who broke into the palace twice in 1982 and entered the Queen's bedroom on the second occasion.

1918

He arranged a series of command performances featuring jazz musicians such as the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (1919; the first jazz performance for a head of state), Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong (1932), which earned the palace a nomination in 2009 for a (Kind of) Blue Plaque by the Brecon Jazz Festival as one of the venues making the greatest contribution to jazz music in the United Kingdom. During the First World War, which lasted from 1914 until 1918, the palace escaped unscathed.

1920

This is a Chinese-style saloon enhanced by Queen Mary, who, working with the designer Sir Charles Allom, created a more "binding" Chinese theme in the late 1920s, although the lacquer doors were brought from Brighton in 1873.

1936

In 1936, the suite briefly became the private apartments of the palace when King Edward VIII occupied them. ==Court ceremonies== Investitures, which include the conferring of knighthoods by dubbing with a sword, and other awards take place in the palace's Ballroom, built in 1854.

Following his accession in 1936, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth allowed the hemline of daytime skirts to rise.

1938

In 1938, the north-west pavilion, designed by Nash as a conservatory, was converted into a swimming pool. ====Second World War==== During the Second World War, which broke out in 1939, the palace was bombed nine times.

1939

In 1938, the north-west pavilion, designed by Nash as a conservatory, was converted into a swimming pool. ====Second World War==== During the Second World War, which broke out in 1939, the palace was bombed nine times.

1940

The most serious and publicised incident destroyed the palace chapel in 1940.

The royal family were seen as sharing their subjects' hardship, as The Sunday Graphic reported: On 15 September 1940, known as Battle of Britain Day, an RAF pilot, Ray Holmes of No.

1945

The British pilot became a King's Messenger after the war and died at the age of 90 in 2005. On VE Day—8 May 1945—the palace was the centre of British celebrations.

1958

In 1958, the Queen abolished the presentation parties for débutantes, replacing them with Garden Parties, for up to 8,000 invitees in the Garden.

1962

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. The original early-19th-century interior designs, many of which survive, include widespread use of brightly coloured scagliola and blue and pink lapis, on the advice of Sir Charles Long.

The purpose-built gallery opened in 1962 and displays a changing selection of items from the collection.

1970

The palace was designated a Grade I listed building in 1970.

1982

At least 12 people have managed to gain unauthorised entry into the palace or its grounds since 1914, including Michael Fagan, who broke into the palace twice in 1982 and entered the Queen's bedroom on the second occasion.

1992

The money raised in entry fees was originally put towards the rebuilding of Windsor Castle after the 1992 fire devastated many of its state rooms.

1993

Its state rooms have been open to the public during August and September and on some dates throughout the year since 1993.

1996

Queen Victoria (vol 1) Hamish Hamilton Ltd. Wright, Patricia (1999; first published 1996).

2005

The British pilot became a King's Messenger after the war and died at the age of 90 in 2005. On VE Day—8 May 1945—the palace was the centre of British celebrations.

2007

It was only in 2007 that trespassing on the palace grounds became a specific criminal offence. ==See also== Flags at Buckingham Palace List of British royal residences Queen's Guard ==Notes== ==References== ==Bibliography== Allison, Ronald; Riddell, Sarah (1991).

2009

He arranged a series of command performances featuring jazz musicians such as the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (1919; the first jazz performance for a head of state), Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong (1932), which earned the palace a nomination in 2009 for a (Kind of) Blue Plaque by the Brecon Jazz Festival as one of the venues making the greatest contribution to jazz music in the United Kingdom. During the First World War, which lasted from 1914 until 1918, the palace escaped unscathed.

2012

At the time, news media reported that he had a long conversation with the Queen while she waited for security officers to arrive, but in a 2012 interview with The Independent, Fagan said the Queen ran out of the room, and no conversation took place.

2015

In November 2015, the State Dining Room was closed for a year and a half because its ceiling had become potentially dangerous.

2016

A 10-year schedule of maintenance work, including new plumbing, wiring, boilers and radiators, and the installation of solar panels on the roof, has been estimated to cost £369 million and was approved by the prime minister in November 2016.

2017

In the year to 31 March 2017, 580,000 people visited the palace, and 154,000 visited the gallery. The palace, like Windsor Castle, is owned by the reigning monarch in right of the Crown.

In March 2017, the House of Commons backed funding for the project by 464 votes to 56. Buckingham Palace is a symbol and home of the British monarchy, an art gallery and a tourist attraction.




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