Thelma's Days: Buckingham Palace

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Buckingham Palace

In September, my daughter,

Suzanne and I visited London.

We spent a full week visiting many

historic Royal sites, castles and palaces

in and around London.

Buckingham Palace serves as both the
headquarters of the Monarch and
home of Her Majesty The Queen.
The original building was built in 1703.

Buckingham Palace

During August and September,
the Queen is in Scotland at her
Summer residence, Balmoral Castle.
During that time, the public is allowed to
visit the state rooms, the rooms used for
official and state entertaining.

I'm sharing some photos around
the grounds of Buckingham Palace,
no photos were allowed inside.

We arrived early in the morning
before 9 o'clock and the crowds.

Suzanne

A large statue of Queen Victoria

in front of the Palace,

surrounded by water and

other statues.

It was so nice to go early,

so quiet and not crowded.

At 11 am the "changing of the guards"

takes place here.

Thousands of people have gathered by this time.

Buckingham Palace was home for Queen Victoria
from 1867 until her death in 1901

I cannot describe the feeling I felt,
standing in front of Buckingham Palace.
I was in awe...

The main entrance

There are 775 rooms in the Palace.

The famous balcony
Where Royalty traditionally congregates to greet crowds.

A bride and groom getting their pics taken

in front of the front gates.

The side entrance to the Palace

We decided to take a walk around the Palace
before our visit inside.

It's all protected with barb wire.

Buckingham Palace is situated
in City of Westminster.

It was a long walk around.

Longer than we anticipated!!

Then it was our time to visit inside..
We visited the Throne Room,
the Grand Staircase,
the Ballroom, and the Picture Gallery.
Paintings of famous artists,
beautiful chandeliers, carpets etc.
It was all incredibly beautiful!

We exited by the back of the building

We stopped to have a tea,

at the Garden Café.

The Palace Lawn.

The Queen holds garden parties here,

inviting the staff and the many people who work here.

800 employees....

It started to get crowded.

We continue our exit around the lake.
A lot of beautiful tree that, over the years,
were gifted from different countries.

Suzanne.

Holly

Holly shrubs are so pretty.

~Hyde Park~

We continue our walk though Hyde Park,
the largest Royal Park in Central London.
This park was established by Henry V111 in 1536
for hunting, and later opened to the public,
by Queen Caroline in 18th Century.
During the 20th century, 9000 elm trees,
some planted under Queen Caroline's reign,
were killed by the Dutch Elm disease.
This disease is presently spreading thoughout Canada.