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Posts Tagged ‘Buckingham Palace’

England is a most beautiful and wonderful nation to visit for a vacation. There are a large number of| visitor attractions well worth visiting which cater for all tastes. For instance|One such place is the historic city of York which has been inhabited since the days of the Roman Empire, Torquay (referred to as the English Riviera) and Liverpool (2008′s European City of Culture). Possibly the most famous place to visit is London the capital city of the United Kingdom of Britain

London is an astounding destination to visit, maybe for just a weekend or, hopefully for longer. You may be surprised at the number of people living in England who have not visited London, even more surprising when you are mindful of the fact it is commonly top of most visitors lists (of the most enjoyable places they went to).

There are so many things to see and do in London that it is almost impossible to recall them all at once. Surprisingly one of the newest attractions in London also happens to be one of the most popular – The London Eye. Another popular attraction nearby to the London Eye is the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. However, one place which must not be missed is Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace is England’s most famous Royal residence, maybe because it is home to Queen Elizabeth II of England. Buckingham Palace is positioned right in the very heart of London which makes it the perfect focus for visitors. The daily pageant of ‘Changing of the Guard’ is incredibly interesting to see and quintessentially English.

Buckingham Palace was originally named Buckingham House. It was originally a large townhouse, constructed in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham. It is actually the town house that forms the main core of the palace as we are familiar with today.

Throughout the following 3 quarters of a century Buckingham House was made larger by the addition of 3 wings around a central courtyard. The main architects responsible for these constructions were Edward Blore and John Nash. John Nash was also responsible for the interior design of the monumental staterooms.

The well known architect Aston Webb was responsible for the building of the principal facade of Buckingham Palace which he re-designed in 1912. Webb along with Sir Thomas Brock (the sculptor) were the winners of a competition to design a memorial to Queen Victoria. This memorial is still seen today.

The Queen has many other royal residences besides Buckingham Palace. Annually the Queen spends Christmas at Sandringham House in Norfolk. Sandringham House is one of the Queen’s private royal residences.

Another private residence is Balmoral Castle, found in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The Queen was at Balmoral Castle when she was informed of the shocking incident involving Diana, Princess of Wales.

If you would like to take a break in the U.K. then you may be pleased to learn that it is possible to find cheap hotels in London without any great effort, on the other hand you may want to stay in more luxurious accommodation and the small selection of boutique hotels in London should be more than satisfactory.