Buckinghamm PalaPalace
There’sA ThroneRoom
WHILEit doesseemgrand,sinceit’sa residence
toroyals,naturally,BuckinghamPalacehasits
veryownthroneroom,completewithtwogrand
monogrammedchairs.However,thequeen
hasonlyeversatinthatchaironce – during her
officialcoronationin 1953.Is ThePalace
Haunted?
BEINGsuchan
oldbuilding,there
arenaturallysome
rumoursthat
BuckinghamPalace
is haunted.The
palacewasbuilton
thegroundswhich
wereoncethesiteof
a monastery,anda monkwhodiedinhiscellis
saidtofrequentthepalace’srearterraceonthe
eveningofChristmasDay,moaningandrattling
hischain.Meanwhile,a first-floorofficeis said
tobehauntedbytheformerprivatesecretary
ofKingEdwardVII,MajorJohnGwynne,who
reportedlyshothimselfafterhis
decisiontodivorcehiswifecauseda
scandalintheroyaloffice.Staffhave
claimedtohearthesoundofa single
gunshot coming from that room.TheQueen’sGrandGardens
BUCKINGHAMPALACEis somuchmorethanthebuilding
itself.Thevenuehousesthequeen’s39-acregarden,which,
realistically,couldfitasmanyasfourWembleyStadiumsor
30 Americanfootballfields– makingit thelargestprivate
gardeninLondon!Thegardenis splitintothreesections:
a rosegarden,whichis hometo 25 differentvarietiesof
roses;Harrisons,whichincludesthemassivelawn;anda less
manicuredareacalledtheYard.Thegardensalsofeaturea
beekeepingarea,a three-acre manmade lake and more.SoManyBedrooms
WHILEthepalacefeatures 775 rooms,theseare,naturally,
notallbedrooms.However,BuckinghamPalacecertainly
doesn’tlackthose.Thereare 52 royalandguestbedrooms
nd 188 staffbedroomsintheroyalresidence.Interestingly,
ueenElizabethIIandPrincePhillipdon’tsharea bedroom,
ncethedukeofEdinburghlikestosleepwiththewindows
pen,evenduringthewinter,andQueenElizabethlikes
o keepwarm.Additionally, the palace also houses 78
athrooms.A VillageWithinItself
BUCKINGHAMPALACEis sograndthatif thequeenchose
nottoleavethegroundseveragain,shewouldn’tbemissing
outontoomuch.Thepalacehasa swimmingpool,a chapel,a
ce,a doctor’soffice,a movietheatre,a staffcafeteria
muchmore.Infact,since2001,anATMhasevenbeen
inthebasementthat’spurelyreservedforthe royals!TheEvolutionOfTheChandeliers
BUCKINGHAMPALACEfeaturessomeoftheworld’s
mostimpressivechandeliers,which,overtheyears,
havebeentechnologicallyupgraded,sothatnowthey
canbeloweredbyremotecontrol,whichhelpsthe
palacestaffkeepthemclean(whatwithnothaving
toclimbladderstoreachthem).However,backinthe
day,KingGeorgeIVusedtoemploy 30 peoplejustto
keepthecandles lit in the years before electricity was
discovered.ThatFamousBalcony
orldwatchedinawewhenPrinceWilliamandKate
Middletonmadetheirdebutasa marriedcouple(andshared
thatfamouskiss)onthebalconyoverlookingtheentrance
toBuckinghamPalace,butthatbalconywasn’tthereuntil
VictoriaandAlberthadit createdasanareafromwhichto
greetthegeneralpublic.It wasfirstusedin1853,whenthe
couplewentouttowavefarewell to the troops headed off to
fight in the Crimean War.King Edward VIIUnlimitedSnacks
THEqueenis veryparticularaboutthefoodthatsheeatsandtherearecertainitems
thatsheadoresandhasmadesurearealwaysavailableatBuckinghamPalace– and
theymaysurpriseyou.Thequeenis reportedlyobsessedwithTobascoandalways
makessureshehasa bottleofthecondimentaroundduringmealtimes.Shealso
startseverymorningwitha bowlofSpecialK anddrinksDarjeelingtea.Whenit
comestosnacking,thequeenreportedlykeepsbowlsofnutsaroundthepalaceand
enjoyssnackingonWalkersshortbread, Coca-Cola and luxury chocolates such as
Prestat and Charbonnel et Walker.Private ChapelTheGrand
Chandeliers