Buckingham palace is a delightful place and stands as a major symbol of English royalty and London city. Although its beginning was as humble as a townhouse, that was built by the Duke of Buckingham. It was initially called the Buckingham house. The Buckingham palace had many royal residents over the years included the famous kings like James I, George III. The gardens are large and house specimen plants. Annual garden parties are held every year and visited by many tourists. Under the residence of George IV, the architecture was improved excessively. Around a thousand workmen were hired in to complete the structure.
Although the construction then was criticized for being too expensive and eating into the governmental funds, the work continued and the palace stand now in all its elegance. Presently the rooms consist of the same furniture from that period, which include amazing porcelain, marble staircases and splendid art work. The palace famously consists of a picture room the size of two tennis courts. It also houses a sculpture gallery which has famous rare sculptures collected by George IV. Some of the rooms are decorated from wall to wall in gold and red silk. There are numerous cut glass chandeliers and onyx columns around the place.
Officially it had become the royal residence when Queen Victoria moved in to reside when she was crowned in the year 1837. Again in this period it was heavily expanded due to the queens needs for nurseries and guest rooms. After her death is it still maintained well and the present royals live there. It is also from here that they administer, conduct official ceremonies and meetings. Reportedly fifty thousand people visit it every year. It is accessible to the public on most days and tickets need to be purchased before hand. Many go to view the famous changing of the guard at 11:30 on ceremonial days.