60 Fun Facts About Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace lies in which London borough?

The Tyburn river still flows beneath the courtyard and south wing.

The building at the core of today's palace was built in 1703 as a townhouse for which nobleman?

John Sheffield's Buckingham House was designed by William Winde as a three-floored block with two service wings.

Buckingham House was bought in 1761 as a private residence for whom?

George III paid £21,000 to Charles Sheffield, the duke's illegitimate son.

How much did George III pay for Buckingham House in 1761?

The leasehold on the old mulberry garden site was due to expire in 1774 anyway.

Under George III the property became known by what name?

An Act of 1775 settled it on Queen Charlotte in exchange for her rights to Old Somerset House.

How many of the queen's 15 children were born at the house?

The name 'Buckingham Palace' was in use from at least 1791, though St James's remained the official residence.

Which architect did George IV hire in 1826 to turn Buckingham House into a palace, then sack in 1829?

The façade reflected George IV's taste for French neoclassical architecture.

Which architect did William IV bring in to finish the palace after Nash's dismissal?

William never moved in, preferring Clarence House, and even offered the palace as a new Houses of Parliament after the 1834 fire.

Who was the first monarch to live at Buckingham Palace, moving in on her accession in 1837?

The chimneys smoked, the ventilation stank and the staff were said to be lazy until Prince Albert reorganised the household in 1840.

William IV offered to convert Buckingham Palace into what after a fire in 1834?

The offer was declined and Charles Barry's new Palace of Westminster was built instead.

The sale of which royal property in 1850 paid for the new East Front wing?

The Pavilion was also stripped of fittings, giving the East Wing rooms their oriental character.

Which builder constructed the East Front wing between 1847 and 1849 to Blore's design?

James Pennethorne, Nash's pupil, designed the ballroom wing in the same period.

Which composer is known to have played at the palace on three occasions during Victoria's reign?

Johann Strauss II and his orchestra also performed there when in England.

What did a note pinned to the palace fence in 1864 offer, mocking the absent widowed Queen?

It cited 'the late occupant's declining business'; Victoria had retreated to Windsor, Balmoral and Osborne.

Which king redecorated the state rooms in the Belle Époque cream and gold scheme they still have?

His fashionable friends were known as the Marlborough House Set.

Which architect refaced the East Front in Portland stone in 1913, creating the façade we know today?

It was designed as a backdrop to Thomas Brock's Victoria Memorial outside the gates.

Which American group played for George V in 1919, the first time its genre was performed for a head of state?

Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong followed in 1932, earning the palace a nomination for a 'Kind of Blue' plaque.

Which prime minister persuaded the King to lock the palace wine cellars during the First World War?

The idea was to set an example to the working class; the workers kept drinking and the King regretted it.

In 1938 the north-west pavilion, designed by Nash as a conservatory, was converted into what?

The palace also has a cinema, doctor's surgery, jeweller's workshop and post office.

How many times was the palace bombed during the Second World War?

The chapel was destroyed in 1940; the King's Gallery now stands on its site.

After the palace was bombed, the Queen Mother said she could look which part of London 'in the face'?

Newsreels of the royal couple inspecting the damage were shown in cinemas across the country.

On Battle of Britain Day 1940, how did RAF pilot Ray Holmes stop a bomber heading for the palace?

He had run out of ammunition; the Dornier crashed into the forecourt of Victoria station and Holmes bailed out.

What was built on the site of the bombed chapel and opened to the public in 1962?

It shows a changing selection from the Royal Collection; 174,000 people visited it in the year to March 2025.

The state rooms have been open to the public in summer since which year?

Ticket money originally paid to rebuild Windsor Castle after the 1992 fire; it now funds Royal Collection conservation.

How many rooms does Buckingham Palace have?

That includes 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, 78 bathrooms, 52 principal bedrooms and 19 state rooms.

How many bathrooms are among the palace's rooms?

There are 19 state rooms and 92 offices.

Which is the largest room in the palace, built in 1854 and used for state banquets?

It is 120 feet long and its throne dais sits under a canopy used at the 1911 Delhi Durbar.

Up to how many guests dine at a state banquet using the 1811 silver-gilt Grand Service?

Dress is white tie and decorations, tiaras included.

Investitures, including knighthoods conferred by dubbing with a sword, usually take place where?

A military band plays in the musicians' gallery as recipients receive their honours.

Which top-lit, 55-yard-long space links the state rooms and hangs works by Rembrandt, Rubens and Vermeer?

The Guard Room at the top of the Grand Staircase holds marble statues of Victoria and Albert in Roman costume.

Visiting heads of state stay in a suite named for which monarch, uncle of Victoria and Albert?

Edward VIII briefly used the Belgian Suite as his private apartments in 1936.

The 1844 Room is named for the state visit that year of which ruler?

The 1855 Room honours Napoleon III's visit; new ambassadors are still received in the 1844 Room.

Queen Elizabeth II's first three children were all baptised where in the palace?

Christenings moved there after the chapel was bombed in the war.

Which annual ceremony ends with the royal family appearing on the East Front balcony?

The balcony sits in front of the Chinese-style Centre Room enhanced by Queen Mary.

Which palace forecourt ceremony is held daily from April to July and every other day otherwise?

More than 700 people work at the palace and some 50,000 guests are entertained there each year.

How large is the palace garden, the biggest private garden in London?

It has more than 1,000 trees, a lake, a tennis court and a helicopter landing area.

In 1958 Queen Elizabeth II abolished the court presentation of débutantes and replaced it with what?

Up to 8,000 people are invited to each; débutantes had worn three ostrich feathers and walked backwards.

Which gilded carriage, first used by George III in 1762 and at every coronation since William IV, is in the Royal Mews?

William Chambers designed it in 1760 with painted panels by Giovanni Battista Cipriani.

The Mall, the ceremonial approach to the palace, runs from which landmark across St James's Park?

Aston Webb designed it, completed in 1911, as part of the memorial to Queen Victoria.

Who broke into the palace twice in 1982 and got into Queen Elizabeth II's bedroom?

Trespassing on the palace grounds only became a specific criminal offence in 2007.

'The boy Jones' gained entry to the palace on three occasions between which years?

Trespassing on the palace grounds only became a specific criminal offence in 2007.

Which king established a mulberry garden on the site in the 17th century for silk production?

The four-acre garden lay at the north-west corner of today's palace and gained a reputation for debauchery.

Buckingham Palace was designated a Grade I listed building in which year?

In the year to March 2025, 683,000 people toured the palace.

The 10-year maintenance programme approved in 2016 was estimated to cost how much?

The Commons backed it by 464 votes to 56; it includes new plumbing, wiring, boilers and solar panels.

After his 2022 accession, where did King Charles III keep living instead of the palace?

He kept conducting banquets, audiences and receptions at Buckingham Palace, which remained the monarch's headquarters.

Many of the palace's smaller reception rooms are furnished in which style, using fittings from Brighton?

The Yellow Drawing Room's chimneypiece has nodding mandarins in niches and winged dragons.

Which river still flows beneath the courtyard and south wing of Buckingham Palace?

In the Middle Ages the marshy site was part of the Manor of Ebury, and the village of Eye Cross grew where the river could be forded.

Which architect designed the original Buckingham House for John Sheffield in 1703?

The house had a three-storey central block with two smaller flanking service wings.

Who built a new house on the site in 1675 after Goring House burned down?

Henry Bennet's house stood where the southern wing of today's palace is.

Roughly how many people visited Buckingham Palace in the year to 31 March 2025?

Admission fees originally paid for rebuilding Windsor Castle after the 1992 fire; they now fund Royal Collection conservation.

In 1968 the palace's treasurer sought an exemption from which law over its hiring practices?

Lord Tryon stated that people of colour were hired only as domestic servants, not for clerical jobs.

By what margin did the House of Commons back funding for the palace's £369 million refurbishment in 2017?

The work includes new plumbing, wiring, lifts, solar panels and asbestos removal, extending the building's life by 50 years.

Roughly how many people work at Buckingham Palace?

It houses the offices of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal and Princess Alexandra.

Which firm completed the gilded railings and gates in front of the palace in 1911?

Behind them stands Aston Webb's façade, described as 'like everybody's idea of a palace'.

The canopy over the Ballroom's throne dais was originally used at which 1911 event?

The domed velvet canopy is known as a shamiana or baldachin.

In which month does the King host the palace's largest reception, for the diplomatic corps?

All the state rooms are used, with Nash's mirrored double doors thrown open to create an illusion of space and light.

How many ostrich feathers did débutantes wear in their hair when presented at court?

They curtsied, walked backwards and curtsied again while managing a train of prescribed length.

How did Queen Mary test George V's reaction before raising her own hemline after 1918?

The King disapproved, so the Queen kept her hemline unfashionably low.

Who designed the Gold State Coach housed in the Royal Mews?

Its painted panels are by Giovanni Battista Cipriani; George III first used it in 1762.

In which year did trespassing on the palace grounds become a specific criminal offence?

At least 12 people have gained unauthorised entry since 1914, most famously Michael Fagan in 1982.