Page 12
The Coveted List of British Royal Residences
British royal residences are palaces, castles and houses occupied by members of the British royal family in the United Kingdom and anyone familiar with the British Royal family will easily recognise Buckingham Palace but what are the other key residences? We’ve got you covered.
Kensington Palace
Official residence of: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
Type: Crown
Location: London, England
Kensington Palace interesting facts:
Built in 1605 for the Earl of Nottingham, Secretary of State.
Originally called Nottingham House.
William III chose it as his residence instead of Whitehall Palace because he suffered from asthma and bronchitis and did not want to live in the London city centre.
By 1897 the building started was in bad shape and plans were made to demolish it. Queen Victoria did not want to have the building torn down while she was alive convinced the Parliament to restore the Palace.
Buckingham Palace
Official residence of: The Queen, The Duke of York and The Earl and Countess of Wessex
Type: Crown
Location: London, England
Buckingham Palace interesting facts:
The site was originally a mulberry garden planted by King James I from 1603-1625 to rear silkworms.
It was originally called Buckingham House.
It was built as a large townhouse for the Duke of Birmingham in 1705.
The Palace has 775 rooms.
The Palace’s gardens cover 40 acres.
Windsor Castle
Official residence of: The Queen
Type: Crown
Location: Windsor, Berkshire, England
Windsor Castle interesting facts:
The Castle of Windsor was built by William the Conqueror in 1070 and took 16 years to complete.
It is the largest inhabited castle in the world.
The original castle was made of wood.
Clarence House
Official residence of: The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall
Type: Crown
Location: London, England
Clarence House interesting facts:
The house was built from 1825 to 1827 for the third son of George III, Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence and his wife Adelaide.
The final cost was calculated at £22,232 in 1829.
The Clarence House stands beside St. James’s Palace.
During the summer months Clarence House is open to visitors, which are given guided tours of five rooms and adjoining spaces on ground floor.
Sandringham House
Official residence of: The Queen
Type: Private
Location: Sandringham, Norfolk, England
Sandringham House interesting facts:
Sandringham House in Norfolk is the country retreat of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. It has been the private home of British monarchs since 1862 and in that time it has seen the lives, and indeed deaths of many a royal family.
The house was also the venue of the first ever Christmas broadcast. King George V started the tradition with his broadcast to the Empire in 1932. It remained as such until Queen Elizabeth II changed the broadcast to a televised version in 1957, filmed in the library at Sandringham.
St James’s Palace
Official residence of: The Princess Royal, Princess Beatrice and Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
Type: Crown
Location: London, England
St James’s Palace interesting facts:
Located in the city of Westminster, it was built by the Henry VIII in 1531 - making it even older than the Queen's official capital residence, Buckingham Palace.
It only became regularly used by the monarchy in 1837, after Queen Victoria began to live there.
The palace is now a royal residence and functional office space.
St James's is also home to the Chapel Royal, where numerous royal christenings have taken place over the years.
