Discover the interior of Buckingham Palace, seat of British royalty for 186 years

Stage of the coronation of King Charles III and the ultimate symbol of the UK monarchy, Buckingham Palace is not in London, as many people think, but in the city of Westminster, located in what could be called the “metropolitan region”.

The space may not be the largest in the world in terms of “palaces”, but it is one of the most visited and admired. Its history, in fact, began with a “house”.

In past centuries, “town houses” were built and inhabited only by nobles and politicians in important cities or capitals.

“Buckingham House”, for example, was built in 1703 for John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby — but in practice, the story goes even further back: in the Middle Ages, Ebury Manor already occupied the space.

In 1761, it was purchased by King George III to serve as an accommodation for Queen Charlotte. It was intended to be an official residence for her, next to St. James, where court activities were concentrated, but ended up earning a nickname that would last a long time: “the queen’s home”.

The following year, it underwent its first reform, so that it would be closer to the king’s taste. Subsequently, the house passed to George IV, who also used the residence to accommodate the Queen and children.

The site gained even more status, and Buckingham was expanded during the 19th century by the hands of architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who created three wings around a central courtyard, at the request of George IV.

He was also the one who decided to double the size of the space to put it in the “palace” category, despite not having a real importance yet – so much so that the king himself never lived there. It was at this time that the famous marble arch appeared, built after the victories in the battles of Trafalgar and Waterloo.

The decoration style, however, never changed: always adopting a French neoclassicism, with a color palette alternating between beige and pink and with the use of techniques such as escaiola (which imitates polished marble) and precious stones, such as lapis lazuli (transparent rock, bluish in color).

Palace status and concentration of royal activities

It was with Queen Victoria that the residence officially gained the status of a palace. In 1837, when the Queen ascended the throne, the United Kingdom was already a well-established monarchy. On 28 June 1838, aged 18, Victoria took the throne a year after William IV’s death.

Being forced to live with her mother, and still single, the queen could not leave the house, so activities ended up naturally concentrated in Buckingham. Another reform was made possible in 1840, so that the place became, in fact, a royal residence.

Célio Tasinafo, pedagogical director of Colégio Oficina do Estudante, an enthusiast and connoisseur of the British monarchy, points out that the reform carried out by the queen was fundamental for the palace to stop becoming, as he compared it, a “shelter”.

“There were problems with the chimneys, and residents chose several times not to light the fireplaces to prevent the entire indoor environment from becoming smoky. In the London winter, without the fireplaces, the palace was converted into a huge cold room”, he explains.

“With the entire ventilation system compromised, the nobles said that the palace dependencies reeked of stables, and had a reputation for being poorly maintained, with accumulated garbage due to a team of servants that was not properly commanded and guided”, continues Tasinafo.

As Vitória was well regarded by the population, the apparitions were always filled with emotion. In the work of 1840, the fourth wing of Buckingham Palace was built, which became a quadrilateral construction, with a central courtyard, and with the sides identified by the cardinal points.

With the construction of more guest rooms, it was at this time that the balconies were erected. One of them became extremely famous at that time.

In 1851, at the opening of the Universal Exhibition in London, Victoria made an appearance on the balcony of one of the rooms, making the monarchy delirious, and this became practically an “obligation”.

With the alterations for Buckingham to become a royal residence, the marble arch was moved to opposite Hyde Park.

The last major building works were during the reign of George V. In 1913, Sir Aston Webb redesigned the east facade, renovated with Portland stone (in the United States). Queen Mary, who was very fond of art, decorated the East Drawing Room, which is 21 meters long.

Buckingham Palace today

After the renovations, Buckingham Palace had 775 rooms, according to the official website of the British monarchy.

There are 19 noble halls, or state rooms (many with original decorations from the times of construction, by George IV), 52 rooms for royalty and guests, 188 rooms for workers who live in the palace, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms.

In dimensions, the palace has a facade of 108 meters, 120 meters deep and 24 meters high.

Rooms open to visitors

The rooms open for visitation have identification names:

• Throne Room, created by John Nash, with a great influence of theater sets, with royal thrones and chairs (in the case of Victoria, for example, only one throne was in the center)
• White Drawing Room, built in 1825. It is a kind of antechamber to the throne, used for court ceremonies; was the setting for photos of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and Kate Middleton)
• Ballroom, completed in 1855, during the reign of Victoria, where banquets are offered for heads of state or special guests
• Music room, it was called before Bow Drawing Room (archery room, in a free translation); it was completed in 1831, and has not undergone any changes since. This is the room where guests, gathered in the Sala Verde, are introduced before a dinner or banquet. Here too, sometimes royal babies are baptized
• Art gallery: 47 meters long, it was also built in the renovation of 1825. The paintings on display are by artists such as Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck and Claude — most from the 17th century. It underwent a revitalization in 2020.
• The grand staircase: also designed by John Nash, inspired by the London theater experience, the proposal is to create an expectation for the rooms that follow the stairs. Decoration is with portraits of members of the crown.
• Palace Gardens: 16 hectares in size (the equivalent of practically 16 football fields), it also has a summer house, a tennis court and the Waterloo Vase, a 4.6 m high Carrara marble vase, which represents British victories in wars and disputes.

Bombarded, visited and admired: curiosities of the palace

Open to visitors in the British summer, registering the passage of more than 50 thousand people every year, according to the royalty, the tour is a little superficial, taking into account that there are more than 700 rooms.

Some state rooms are open, but no private rooms can be visited. The royal gardens and stables are included in the tour, which has to be booked (well) in advance. The throne room, grand staircase, ballroom and music room can also be visited.

There is also a virtual tour, which can be accessed through this link.

Few know, however, that the palace almost completely collapsed. It was during World War II when the Nazi army bombed the site seven times.

In more than one of these attacks, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth I were in official housing and narrowly escaped tragedy. One of the wings affected by the bombs was the chapel, rebuilt after the war.

There is, however, a space that can be visited all year round: the Queen’s Gallery, which brings together various objects and treasures of the Royal Family, including furniture, jewelry, dresses, works of art and personal objects for members of the crown.

Collections are exchanged at least twice a year. The name of the space was not changed to “Galeria do Rei”, and there is no information if this will actually happen or not.

It is in Buckingham that the traditional and iconic changing of the royal guard takes place. The ceremony takes place daily from April to July, high season in London, and on alternate days in the remaining months of the year.

Despite this reinforced security, Célio Tasinafo recalls that 12 people have already been registered without authorization. The most famous break-in took place on a Friday in 1982, when Michael Fagan, a 33-year-old unemployed painter and decorator, broke into Queen Elizabeth II’s bedroom around 7 am.

“Without any major difficulties, that was already the 2nd time that the invader had wandered through the palace uninvited. The first time he had half a bottle of wine and left without any problems,” he recalls.

By the way, nothing belongs to the king (or queen). “The installations, works of art, furniture and decorative objects belong to the State. In 1993, Queen Elizabeth II authorized visitation during the months of August to September to the state rooms. The amount collected from tickets purchased by visitors is used to conserve the palace”, adds Tasinafo.