Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is a royal residence in London and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality.

The history of the site where Buckingham Palace stands can be traced back to the reign of James I in the early 17th century. He started a plantation of mulberries for the rearing of silkworms where the Palace Gardens are now located. Charles I then gave the garden to Lord Aston in 1628 and it is clear from records that a large house already existed on the site at this time. The house had many owners and tenants until, in 1698, it was let to the man who gave the house its name – John Sheffield, later the Duke of Buckingham.

The Duke found the house old-fashioned, so it was demolished to create the new ‘Buckingham House’, which stood where Buckingham Palace is today. It was designed and built with the assistance of William Talman, Comptroller of the Works to William III, and Captain William Winde, a retired soldier.