Story
The story of Buckingham Palace
The heart of this palace was once just a large townhouse. Buckingham House was built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham and Normanby. In 1761 George III bought it as a private home for Queen Charlotte, and it became known as The Queen's House.
In the early 19th century the architects John Nash and Edward Blore added three wings around a central courtyard. It only became the monarch's London residence when Queen Victoria came to the throne in June 1837. The front you see, the East Front, was added later and holds the famous balcony where the royal family appears to greet the crowds. During the Second World War a German bomb destroyed the palace chapel; the King's Gallery was built on the site and opened in 1962 to show art from the Royal Collection.
Today King Charles III lives at nearby Clarence House but works here. Watch the balcony.
This story is compiled from Wikipedia and other open sources; dates and numbers are checked against the source. The text is shared under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Source ↗
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