Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of the UK’s sovereigns since

1837 and today is the administrative headquarters of the Monarch. Although in use for the many
official events and receptions held by The Queen, the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace
are open to visitors every summer.

Buckingham Palace today

Today, Buckingham Palace is very much a working building and the centrepiece of the UK’s constitutional
monarchy, serving as the venue for many royal events and ceremonies from entertaining foreign Head of
States to celebrating achievement at Investitures and receptions.

More than 50,000 people visit the Palace each year as guests to State banquets, lunches,
dinners, receptions and Garden Parties. Her Majesty also holds weekly audiences with the Prime
Minister and receives newly-appointed foreign Ambassadors at Buckingham Palace.

History of Buckingham Palace

George III bought Buckingham House in 1761 for his wife Queen Charlotte to use as a comfortable family
home close to St James's Palace, where many court functions were held. Buckingham House became
known as the Queen's House, and 14 of George III's 15 children were born there.

George IV, on his accession in 1820, decided to reconstruct the house into a pied-à-terre, using it for the
same purpose as his father George III.

As work progressed, and as late as the end of 1826, The King had a change of heart. With
the assistance of his architect, John Nash, he set about transforming the house into a palace.
Parliament agreed to a budget of £150,000, but the King pressed for £450,000 as a more realistic
figure.Nash retained the main block but doubled its size by adding a new suite of rooms on the garden
side facing west. Faced with mellow Bath stone, the external style reflected the French neo-
classical influence favoured by George IV.

The remodelled rooms are the State and semi-State Rooms, which remain virtually unchanged
since Nash's time.
The north and south wings of Buckingham House were demolished and rebuilt on a larger scale with a
triumphal arch - the Marble Arch - as the centrepiece of an enlarged courtyard, to commemorate the
British victories at Trafalgar and Waterloo.

By 1829 the costs had escalated to nearly half a million pounds. Nash's extravagance cost him his job,
and on the death of George IV in 1830, his younger brother William IV took on Edward Blore to finish the
work. The King never moved into the Palace. Indeed, when the Houses of Parliament were destroyed
by fire in 1834, the King offered the Palace as a new home for Parliament, but the offer was declined.

Queen Victoria was the first sovereign to take up residence in July 1837 and in June 1838 she was the
first British sovereign to leave from Buckingham Palace for a Coronation. Her marriage to Prince Albert
in 1840 soon showed up the Palace's shortcomings.

A serious problem for the newly married couple was the absence of any nurseries and too few bedrooms
for visitors. The only solution was to move the Marble Arch - it now stands at the north-east corner of
Hyde Park - and build a fourth wing, thereby creating a quadrangle. The cost of the new wing was largely
covered by the sale of George IV's Royal Pavilion at Brighton.

Blore added an attic floor to the main block of the Palace and decorated it externally with marble friezes
originally intended for Nash's Marble Arch. The work was completed in 1847.By the turn of the century
the soft French stone used in Blore's East Front was showing signs of deterioration, largely due to
London's notorious soot, and required replacing.

In 1913 the decision was taken to reface the façade. Sir Aston Webb, with a number of large
public buildings to his credit, was commissioned to create a new design. Webb chose Portland Stone,
which took 12 months to prepare before building work could begin. When work did start it took 13
weeks to complete the refacing, a process that included removing the old stonework.

The present forecourt of the Palace, where Changing the Guard takes place, was formed in 1911, as part
of the Victoria Memorial scheme.

The gates and railings were also completed in 1911; the North-Centre Gate is now the everyday entrance
to the Palace, whilst the Central Gate is used for State occasions and the departure of the guard after
Changing the Guard. The work was completed just before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.
Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms. These include 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms,
92 offices and 78 bathrooms. The palace measures 108 metres by 120 m and is 24 m high.

Palatul Buckingham are 775 de camere. Acestea includ 19 camere de ceremonii, 52 de camere și dormitoare regale, 188 de
dormitoare ale angajaților, 92 de birouri și 78 de toalete. Palatul măsoară 108 metri pe 120 de metri și are o înălțime de 24 de
metri.

The State Rooms are the public rooms in the Palace where The Queen and members of
the Royal Family receive and entertain their guests on special and official occasions.

Many of the State Rooms have particular uses today. The Throne Room is used by
The Queen for court ceremonies and official entertaining, and was the setting for the
wedding photos of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The White Drawing Room,
perhaps the grandest of all the State Rooms, serves as a royal reception room for
The Queen and members of the Royal Family to gather before official occasions.

Camerele ceremoniale sunt încăperi publice ale palatului, unde Regina și membrii Familiei Regale își primesc și distrează invitații cu
împrejurarea ocaziilor speciale și oficiale.

Multe dintre camerele ceremoniale au anumite întrebuințări în ziua de azi. Camera Tronului este folosită pentru festivități ale Curții și
pentru divertisment official. A fost locul unde au fost făcute fotografiile de la nunta Ducelui și Ducesei de Cambridge. The White Drawing
Room, poate una dintre cele mai mărețe dintre toate încăperile, este folosită drept recepția regală pentru Regină și membrii Familiei
Regale, pentru a se aduna înainte de protocoalele oficiale.