Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a rallying point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and crisis. Originally known as Buckingham House, the building which forms the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site which had been in private ownership for at least 150 years.
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the seat of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames in the heart of the London borough of the City of Westminster, close to the historic Westminster Abbey and the government buildings of Whitehall and Downing Street.
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London (and historically as The Tower), is a historic fortress and scheduled monument in central London, England, on the north bank of the River Thames. It is located within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and is separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It is the oldest building used by the British government.
Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London; it has not been lived in by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located 11.7 miles (18.8 km) south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames. It was originally built for Cardinal Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII, circa 1514; in 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the palace was passed to the King, who enlarged it.
Woodstock Palace was a royal residence in the English town of Woodstock, Oxfordshire. The title of "palace" was first used to refer to it during the twelfth century, when it was favoured by King Henry I of England. In about 1120, he created a zoo in the grounds. His grandson, Henry II was also fond of Woodstock, and spent time here with his mistress, Rosamund Clifford.
The Savoy Palace was considered the grandest nobleman's residence of medieval London, until it was destroyed in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. It fronted Strand, on the site of the present Savoy Theatre and the Savoy Hotel that memorialise its name. In its area the rule of law was different from the rest of London.
Richmond is a suburban town in southwest London, England and part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is located 8.2 miles (13.2 km) west-southwest of Charing Cross and is one of thirty five major centres identified in the London Plan. The formation and naming of the town is due to the building of Richmond Palace in the 16th century and the development of Richmond as a London suburb began with the opening of the railway station in 1846.
Marlborough House is a mansion in Westminster, London, in Pall Mall just east of St James's Palace. It was built for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, the favourite and confidante of Queen Anne. The Duchess wanted her new house to be "strong, plain and convenient". Christopher Wren, both father and son, designed a brick building with rusticated stone quoins that was completed in 1711. For over a century it served as the London residence of the Dukes of Marlborough.
The Palace of Beaulieu also known as New Hall was located in Essex, England, north of Chelmsford. The estate on which it was built - the manor of Walhfare in Boreham - was granted to the Canons of Waltham Abbey in 1062. Charter S 1036 After various changes of possession it was granted by the Crown to the Earl of Ormond in 1491. By this time it had a house called New Hall. In 1516 New Hall was sold by Thomas Boleyn to Henry VIII of England for £1,000 (£42,000 in today's money).
Walmer Castle was built by Henry VIII in 1539–1540 as an artillery fortress to counter the threat of invasion from Catholic France and Spain. It was part of his programme to create a chain of coastal defences along England's coast known as the Device Forts or as Henrician Castles. It was one of three forts constructed to defend the Downs, an area of safe anchorage protected by the Goodwin Sands, in Kent, south east England. The other forts were at Deal and Sandown.
The Palace of Whitehall was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698 when all except Inigo Jones's 1622 Banqueting House was destroyed by fire. Before the fire it had grown to be the largest palace in Europe, with over 1,500 rooms, overtaking the Vatican and Versailles.
The Queen's House, Greenwich, is a former royal residence built between 1614-1617 in Greenwich, then a few miles downriver from London, and now a district of the city. Its architect was Inigo Jones, for whom it was a crucial early commission, for Anne of Denmark, the queen of King James I of England. It was altered and completed by Jones, in a second campaign about 1635 for Henrietta Maria, queen of King Charles I.
The Palace of Placentia was an English Royal Palace built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester in 1447, in Greenwich, on the banks of the River Thames, downstream from London. The Palace was demolished in the seventeenth century and replaced with the Greenwich Hospital in the late seventeenth century.
St. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James's Park. Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it has remained the official residence of the Sovereign and the most senior royal palace in the UK. For this reason it gives its name to the Royal Court.
Clarence House is a royal home in London, situated on The Mall. It is attached to St. James's Palace and shares the palace's garden. For nearly 50 years, from 1953 to 2002, it was home to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, but is now the official residence of The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, and the Princes William and Harry. It is open to visitors for approximately two months each summer. The house was built between 1825 and 1827 to a design by John Nash.
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century. Today it is the official residence of The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; the Duke and Duchess of Kent; and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Kensington Palace is also used on an unofficial basis by Prince Harry, as well as his cousin Zara Phillips.
This is a list of residences occupied by the British Royal family, noting the seasons of the year they are traditionally occupied. Members of the British Royal Family inhabit a range of residences around the United Kingdom. Some are royal palaces, owned by the state and held in trust by the monarch; others are privately owned. Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House have been inherited as private property for several generations. Other royal palaces are no longer residences.
Bridewell Palace, London, originally a residence of Henry VIII, later became a poorhouse and prison. Its name has come to be synonymous with police stations and detention facilities in England and Ireland. It was built on the site of the medieval St Bride's Inn at a cost of £39,000 for Henry VIII, who lived there between 1515–1523. Standing on the banks of the River Fleet, it was named after a nearby well dedicated to St Bride.
Sandringham House is a country house on 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) of land near the village of Sandringham in Norfolk, England. The house is privately owned by the British Royal Family and is located on the royal Sandringham Estate, which lies within the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Claremont is an 18th-century Palladian mansion situated less than a mile south of Esher in Surrey, England. The buildings are now occupied by Claremont Fan Court School, and its landscaped gardens are owned and managed by the National Trust.
Kew Palace is a British Royal Palace in Kew Gardens, Kew on the banks of the Thames up river from London. There have been at least four Palaces at Kew, and three have been known as Kew Palace, the first building may not have been known as Kew as no records survive other than the words of another courtier. One survives and is open to visitors. It is cared for by an independent charity, Historic Royal Palaces, which receives no funding from the Government or the Crown.
Carlton House was a mansion in London, best known as the town residence of the Prince Regent for several decades from 1783. It faced the south side of Pall Mall, and its gardens abutted St. James's Park in the St James's district of London.