Buckingham Palace and Its Residents

By | July 23, 2019

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Buckingham Palace. Source: (commons.wikipedia.org)

Buckingham Palace, located in Westminster, has been the home of the royal family for many years, but this year is a special year as it is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria. She was the first monarch to actually live in the palace. Every summer visitors come and tour the grounds as well as the rooms inside of this beautiful place. The palace is not just a residence but a place where numerous activities and events take place with as many as 800 people on staff. As the visitors take in the brilliance of the royal residence, they also have the opportunity to view all of the artifacts and memorabilia of Queen Victoria and her life.

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Queen Victoria. Source: (history.com)

Buckingham Palace

When Queen Victoria obtained the palace in 1837, it became London’s residence of the British monarch. She played a major role in the redesigning and extension of the palace. It was not always so outstanding. Before the renovations took place, there were many complications and repairs that had to be taken care of. Because of smoky chimneys, whenever the fireplaces were used, they had to let them die down which inevitably caused the place to become quite cold. The ventilation was horrible which caused a terrible smell. When the queen married Prince Albert in 1840, he took care of making sure these issues were resolved which included getting rid of lazy staff. In 1847, as their family grew, a new wing was added as well as some other rooms including a ballroom. Buckingham Palace became a place of entertainment that included musicians and costume balls as well as ceremonies and other momentous occasions. Queen Victoria lived there until Prince Albert died in 1861.