Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837. It serves both as the office and London residence of Her Majesty The Queen, as well as the administrative headquarters of the Royal Household. It is one of the few working royal palaces remaining in the world today.

Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms. These include 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms. In measurements, the building is 108 metres long across the front, 120 metres deep (including the central quadrangle) and 24 metres high.

Today the State Rooms form the heart of the working Palace and are used extensively by The Queen and Members of the Royal Family to receive and entertain their guests on State, ceremonial and official occasions. During August and September when The Queen makes her annual visit to Scotland, the Palace's nineteen state rooms are open to visitors.

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 Sèvres porcelain; and some of the finest English and French furniture in the world.

The Garden has been described as a 'walled oasis in the middle of London'. The Palace's garden is home to thirty different species of bird and more than 350 different wild flowers, some extremely rare. Visitors end their tour with a walk along the south side of the garden, with splendid views of the west front of the Palace and the famous lake.

Buckingham Palace is furnished and decorated with priceless works of art, all forming part of the Royal Collection. This Royal Collection is one of the major art collections in the world today, and yet despite this, Buckingham Palace is not an art gallery and nor is it a museum.

If you would like to find out more information about Buckingham Palace, please refer to the Palace's web site: http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/