Royal London E-Book

Gill Knappett

• Herausgeber: Pitkin
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Serie: English Heritage
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 57

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

Follow in the footsteps of royalty past and present on this journey through England's capital and beyond to Kew, Hampton Court and Windsor. London has a charm that draws visitors from home and abroad who are looking to explore what England's capital city has to offer. The fact that for hundreds of years Britain has had a Royal Family is part of that charm, and the unique history of our monarchy forms the basis of Royal London. From palaces and parks to pomp and ceremony, from streets with royal connections to statues commemorating past sovereigns and their consorts, much of today's royal London is readily available to any visitor who wishes to seek it out. But it is fascinating, too, to reflect on how parts of London came about, thanks to those monarchs who have lived, loved, lost and left a royal footprint. Sites include: Buckingham Palace, St James's Palace, Kensington Palace, Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower of London, V&A Museum, Green Park, Hyde Park, Greenwich Observatory, Hampton Court, Windsor Castle. This beautifully illustrated book is part of the Pitkin Royal Collection series, celebrating the lives of the British royal family. Other notable titles in this insightful series include Royal Babies, The Queen and Her Family and Queen Elizabeth II.

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Royal London

Royal Palaces

Buckingham Palace

St James’s Palace

Whitehall Palace

Somerset House

Kensington Palace

Palace of Westminster

Westminster Abbey

Coronations

St Paul’s Cathedral

Tower of London

Royal Ceremonials

Changing the Guard

Trooping the Colour

Horse Guards Parade

Beating the Retreat

Royal Regiments

Household Cavalry

Foot Guards

Kings Troop, Royal Horse Artillery

Royal Proclamations

Victoria & Albert’s London

Royal Streets & Statues

Royal Parks

St James’s Park

Green Park

Hyde Park

Kensington Gardens

Regent’s Park

Royal Greenwich

Royal Botanic Gardens & Palace, Kew

Hampton Court Palace

Windsor Castle

Places to Visit

Acknowledgements

Copyright

The royal barge carries Queen Elizabeth II and members of the Royal Family past the Palace of Westminster during her Diamond Jubilee River Pageant in June 2012.

ROYAL LONDON

London has a charm that draws visitors from home and abroad who are looking to explore what England’s capital city has to offer. The fact that for hundreds of years Britain has had a Royal Family is part of that charm, and the unique history of our monarchy forms the basis of Royal London.

From palaces and parks to pomp and ceremony, from streets with royal connections to statues commemorating past sovereigns and their consorts, much of today’s royal London is readily available to any visitor who wishes to seek it out. But it is fascinating, too, to reflect on how parts of London came about, thanks to those monarchs who have lived, loved, lost and left a royal footprint. Follow in the footsteps of royalty past and present on this journey through England’s capital and beyond to Kew, Hampton Court and Windsor.

Gill Knappett

Royal Palaces

BUCKINGHAM PALACE

In the early 17th century, James I planted 10,000 mulberry trees in a walled garden where Buckingham Palace now stands. He planned to establish a silk industry but the wrong type of mulberry tree had been chosen and the project failed.

What has become London’s most famous royal residence was a much smaller property when it was built as a town house for the Duke of Buckingham in 1705. Buckingham House came into royal ownership in 1761 when George III purchased it for £28,000, renaming it the Queen’s House in honour of his consort, Queen Charlotte. When she died it became known as the King’s House in preparation for her son, the Prince Regent’s, future role as sovereign.

By the time the Prince Regent took the throne as George IV in 1820 he had employed the architect John Nash to extend the King’s House into a palace. Nash’s work was a masterpiece but grand plans and spiralling costs meant the project was still unfinished by the time the king died. During the reign of his successor, William IV, another architect, Edward Blore, was employed to complete the task, although work was still taking place when King William died.

Buckingham Palace seen from St James’s Park.

DID YOU KNOW?

There are 775 rooms at Buckingham Palace. As well as the 19 State Rooms, there are 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 78 bathrooms and 92 offices.

Soon after Queen Victoria’s accession in 1837, she became the first monarch to make Buckingham Palace her home. Blore was responsible for building the balcony at Buckingham Palace and when Victoria stepped on to it to greet the crowds in celebration of the opening of the Great Exhibition in 1851, so began what is now a tradition on many royal occasions – although the now famous ‘first kiss’ was only established in 1981, following the marriage of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer.

Today Buckingham Palace remains the official London home of the sovereign, and the Royal Standard flies when the sovereign is in residence.

The State Rooms are open to the public for ten weeks during the summer. These are lavishly decorated and furnished with priceless treasures from the Royal Collection. As the name suggests, the State Rooms are where the Queen receives guests on State occasions, but they are also used for ceremonial and other official events. Most of the 19 State Rooms were designed by John Nash and include the White Drawing Room, where members of the Royal Family gather before official events, and the Throne Room, where court ceremonies and official royal entertainment takes place.

Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Queen, the Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch a flypast marking 100 years of the RAF in July 2018.

An engraving of Buckingham Palace from 1849.

Entrance to The Queen’s Gallery, home to works of art from the Royal Collection.

DID YOU KNOW?

The name ‘Mews’ comes from the royal hawks kept, since the reign of Richard II, at the King’s Mews, on the site where the National Gallery stands today. ‘Mew’ is another word for moulting, and the birds were kept there when they were moulting and not hunting. The King’s Mews were destroyed by a fire in 1534 and rebuilt as stables for Henry VIII.

Another part of Buckingham Palace which can be visited by the public at certain times of the year is The Royal Mews. It was George III who first decided to move his horses and carriages next to his Queen’s House. Later, his son, George IV, commissioned John Nash to remodel and extend what were essentially the stables.

By the time Queen Victoria was on the throne, so many people were working at the Royal Mews that she had accommodation built on site for them, and even set up a school there for the employees’ children.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle process through Windsor in an Ascot Landau, one of several kept at the Royal Mews, following their wedding in May 2018.

DID YOU KNOW?

It takes eight horses to pull the Gold State Coach and it only ever processes at walking speed. Despite this, Queen Victoria claimed that travelling in it made her feel unwell.

Today the Royal Mews houses all types of royal transport, including motor cars. However, it is processions with horse-drawn carriages that form a spectacular sight on royal occasions, and carriages kept here include the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, built to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s 2012 Jubilee. But the grandest vehicle of all is the Gold State Coach. This gilded coach has been used for royal coronations ever since 1821 when it was the transport for the new king, George IV, who claimed it to be one of the most uncomfortable rides he had ever experienced.

Two types of horses are used to pull the royal carriages: Cleveland Bays and Windsor Greys, both of which are trained at the Royal Mews. Windsor Greys are known particularly for their placid temperament and are used for carriages bearing the monarch.

Also on site at Buckingham Palace is The Queen’s Gallery