Britain's Royal Residences

British Culture: Britain's Royal Residences

The British Royal Family's Official Residences

Buckingham Palace, London, UK — Buckingham Palace

The British Royal Family maintains over 20 official residences in the UK. Some of them are palaces such as Buckingham Palace in London and Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland, some are castles, for example Windsor Castle and Balmoral Castle. Some are grand country houses or stately homes set in massive grounds such as Highgrove House and Gatcombe Park. Others are London town houses such as Clarence House on the Mall and Ivy Cottage and Wren House in the grounds of Kensington Palace. Some are only used for special occasions such as Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland.

Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK — Edinburgh Castle

Former Residences

Former residences of the British monarchy where various kings, queens, princes and princesses have resided at some time in history number over 100. These include the Palace of Westminster, better known as the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London, Kew Palace within Kew Gardens, Hampton Court Palace, Banqueting House, Bushy House, Carlton House, Cumberland House, Dover House, Ealtham Palace, Gunnersbury Park (once home to Princess Amelia, daughter of George II), all in and around the capital, Leeds Castle in Kent, Edinburgh Castle, Caernarfon Castle in Wales, Apethorpe Palace in Northampton, the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, Osborne House on the Isle of Wight and Allerton Castle in Yorkshire.

The royal palaces enjoy various legal privileges known as royal prerogatives and are administered by the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. See a listing of some of the most famous royal residences in the UK.

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace has been the official London residence of Britain's monarchs since 1837. Originally called Buckingham House, the main building was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1705, hence the name.

King George III acquired the property in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte. The house was enlarged by architects by architects John Nash and Edward Blore. They constructed three wings around the central courtyard.

Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms including 19 State Rooms. The Palace is also the location for great Royal ceremonies and State Visits by foreign dignitaries.

The palace also has a priceless art collection that forms part of the Royal Collection, but it is neither an art gallery nor a museum. It is a home first and foremost for the monarchs of Britain in the capital, London.

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle in Windsor has the distinction of being the largest occupied castle in the world as well as being the longest occupied palace in Europe. Since 1917 Windsor has been the family name of the Royal Family, and the castle keep is central in the family crest.

Built originally by William the Conqueror as one of a series of fortifications surrounding London, the first monarch to reside there was Henry I in 1110, and successive monarchs have expanded the castle up to its present size of 13 acres.

Each expansion included rebuilding or extending existing structures usually based on earlier styles but with contemporary elements so the castle contains a wide variety of architectural styles though most of it is dated to the Georgian or Victorian periods. The last big renovation followed the disastrous fire in 1992 that destroyed over 100 rooms of the Upper Ward though much of the artwork was saved.

Within the castle is St. George's Chapel, the burial place of many British monarchs including Henry VIII and now Elizabeth II. Many monarchs were also married here including Queen Victoria.

The superb state apartments contain treasures from the Royal Collection including various historic arms and armour, as well as famous artworks by Rubens, Rembrandt and Gainsborough. Windsor Castle is an easy day-trip for visitors from London.

Balmoral Castle, Scotland

Balmoral Castle in Scotland is one of the summer residences of the British royal family. The original castle was purchased in 1852 by Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria. It was subsequently demolished and the present royal palace built in its wake. Balmoral is within the Cairngorms National Park. It was here that Queen Elizabeth II passed away in 2022.

After Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's first visit to Scotland as a couple in 1842 they were so impressed with the country that they decided to purchase a home there. The money for the purchase, according to the book Bizarre Scotland, came from the eminent miser John Camden Nield, who left Queen Victoria £500,000 upon his death.

Prince Albert first bought the building in 1848 and completed the purchase of the land on which it stands in 1852. The original castle was deemed too small for their needs so it was demolished. Local Scottish architect William Smith designed the new castle. His father John Smith had designed the previous building on the land.

The new granite castle opened in 1856. The earlier castle which had begun as a hunting lodge for King Robert II of Scotland and had been enlarged over the centuries by the Farquharson and Gordon families was demolished.

Kensington Palace in London. — Kensington Palace in London

Kensington Palace, London

Kensington Palace was originally built in the early 17th-century in the village of Kensington, and it was known as Nottingham House for the Earl of Nottingham.

The house was acquired by King William III in 1689 because the asthmatic King wanted a home near London but away from the smoky air of the capital. Kensington Palace was renovated and extended by Sir Christopher Wren who attached pavilions to each corner of the central block. Wren also reoriented the house to make it face west and built north and south wings.

Kensington Palace was the favoured residence of British monarchs for 70 years but was never the official seat of the Court which remained at St. James's. Queen Mary and King William III both died at Kensington Palace in 1694 and 1702 respectively. After King William III's death, the palace became the residence of Queen Anne.

Today the palace is the official London residence of The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The palace was also the official residence of Diana, Princess of Wales from 1981 until her death in Paris in 1997.

The visitor to the palace today will find that the State Rooms are open to the public.

St James's Palace

St James's Palace in London, close to St James's Park, is the home of the monarch's royal court.

The red brick Tudor-style palace was constructed by Henry VIII in the 1530s and used as the principal London residence of the monarch until the move to Buckingham Palace in 1837 during the reign of Queen Victoria.

The palace contains The Proclamation Gallery where the Accession Council meets to declare a new monarch after the death of the preceding king or queen. A wing of the palace, York House, was former home of Charles III and his sons, Princes William and Harry.

The Queen's Chapel, designed by Indigo Jones (1573-1652), is open to the public at various times.

To this day foreign ambassadors and other dignitaries present their credentials to the Court of St James's. The palace has been the venue for a number of historic international conferences during its history including the Second Round Table Conference in 1931 on future Indian independence.

The palace now serves as the London residence of Princess Anne, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Alexandra and also hosts official receptions for visiting heads of state.

Sandringham House, Norfolk

Sandringham House is a lavish country house in Norfolk, once an Elizabethan manor house rebuilt as a Georgian stately home in 1771, the property was purchased by Queen Victoria for her 21-year-old son, the future Edward VII and his new wife Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1862 as a country retreat. Edward expanded the main part of the house which was finished in 1870, with later additions of a ballroom in 1883 and new guest and staff accommodation later the 1890s.

The house stands in an 8,000 hectare estate about 12 km south of Hunstanton. Of this 24 hectares of woodland and heath of Sandringham Royal Park are open to the public daily.

King George V died at Sandringham and his son King George VI was also born and died there too. Their bodies were taken to the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the estate before lying in state in London.

The house is open to the public on various dates between April and October. A museum full of royal treasures and about 20 vehicles used by the royal household can be visited in the former stables and coach house. These include gifts given to the royal family by various monarchs from around Europe as well as a 1900 Daimler driven by Edward VII (the first royal motor vehicle) and even a 1939 Merryweather & Sons fire engine.

The beautiful gardens are a delight and still contain game birds stocked for the passionate shooter Edward.

sandringhamestate.co.uk

Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh

The Palace of Holyroodhouse aka Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. It stands at the opposite end of the Royal Mile from Edinburgh Castle.

The palace has served as the main royal residence in Scotland since the 16th century. It was built on the grounds of the ruined Holyrood Abbey by James IV of Scotland.

Nowadays, visitors to the palace can see Mary Queen of Scots' rooms and the State Apartments, used for official functions. In 2002, The Queen's Gallery was built to show works of art from the Royal Collection.

rct.uk

Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, Scotland. — Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, Scotland

Clarence House, London

Located on The Mall close to St. James's Palace, Clarence House was built for William IV between 1825 and 1827 to a design by John Nash. It has been remodeled several times since, in particular after been badly damaged in World War II.

Over time it has served as the residence of Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, both Prince William and Prince Harry and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, the wife of King George VI.

Certain rooms are open to the public usually in August every year.