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Buckingham Palace is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. Although many of us know its majestic exterior, much of the interior layout of the Queen’s former full-time London home remains unfamiliar. While sections are opened up at certain times of the year, the official plans for the 775-room building have never been released into the public realm. To give royal fans a more in-depth look inside the elegant residence, a team of architects revealed detailed floor plans of the building using pre-existing planning documents, information, photos and videos taken inside the palace. Click through to see the place where Queen Elizabeth spent most of her royal life…
While the floor plans are accurate according to the available information, there are some areas of the property – which boasts 19 staterooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms – that remain a closely guarded secret and are off-limits to anyone except palace staff. One of the reasons Her Majesty is leaving the palace is to conserve staff resources amid the ongoing pandemic.
THE CENTRAL BLOCK: This part of Buckingham Palace was designed by architect John Nash and is where the Ballroom and Throne Room are housed. It is also the section of the palace that is usually open each summer for public tours.
Upon entering the central block of Buckingham Palace, visitors are met by the Grand Staircase (pictured), which is lined with luxurious red carpet and portraits of the Royal Family that adorn the walls. It is influenced by architect Nash’s experience designing London theaters and is designed to imbue guests with a sense of excitement and anticipation about what will follow.
The Grand Staircase is perhaps the most well-known image from inside the palace. One famous shot of the area from the 1960s shows a young Princess Anne on the red carpet of the staircase.
THE GREEN DRAWING ROOM: Across the corridor from the Grand Staircase is the Green Drawing Room, which serves as a huge anteroom to the Throne Room, and is part of the ceremonial route to the throne from the Guard Room at the top of the Grand staircase. It was originally created as the Saloon room for the Duchess of Buckingham since it was the largest room on the first floor of old Buckingham House. Pictured: The Queen with her maids of honor in the Green Drawing Room on her Coronation in June 1953.
THE THRONE ROOM: The Green Drawing Room leads to the Throne Room, which is where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge posed for their official family photograph following their wedding in April 2011. The design of the room was again greatly influenced by his background in theater set designs. The most notable example of this is the room’s dramatic arch and canopy over the thrones, which have echoes of a stage curtain.
Central to Throne Room is the pair of throne chairs, which are known as Chairs of Estate and were used for the coronation ceremony of the Queen in 1953. There were also chairs made for the coronation of King George VI, and a single throne chair made for Queen Victoria in 1837.
The then-Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip posed for a photo on their wedding day in the Throne Room in November 1947. Among those pictured are the Queen’s father, King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth (right), and Philip’s mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg (fifth from left).
The Throne Room has also been used for royal performances. Here, Emily Magee and Stuart Skelton were seen performing during a gala concert at Buckingham Palace in London in October 2018 to mark Prince Charles’s 70th birthday.
THE MUSIC ROOM: Formerly known as the Saloon State Room, the Music Room is where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert spent many happy hours singing and playing the piano. Today, it is used as a meeting place for visiting dignitaries.
Her Majesty posed for a photo in this room with former President Donald Trump and former First Lady Melania Trump on their State Visit, prior to their banquet. It’s also historically been used for Order Of Merit Service photographs.
THE BALLROOM: This is the largest of the State Rooms. It was completed in 1855 during the reign of Queen Victoria. Today, the Ballroom is used for official purposes, including investitures and State Banquets. Pictured: The State Banquet for Donald and Melania’s visit in June 2019.
During banquets, members of the Royal Family are seated in order of seniority, with Prince Charles seated to the left of the Queen. The Duchess of Cornwall, the second most senior royal, is seated on the right of the visiting king. Here, the Queen is seen delivering a speech at a State Banquet that was held for King Willem-Alexander (center) and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands in October 2018.
THE STATE DINING ROOM: The State Dining Room is located on the second floor of the central block. The mahogany table in the center of it is said to be polished so often it doesn’t need a tablecloth.
Here, the grand State Dining Room was cleared in March 2011 to stage the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding reception.
A recreation of a royal Victorian dinner in the State Dining Room at Buckingham Palace on July 17, 2019, to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria.
THE REGENCY ROOM: This regal room has a green and gold color scheme and has been featured in many of the monarch’s official photographs and Christmas broadcasts. The room also boasts elegant tassel trim sofas, green carpets, two spacious desks and a traditional white fireplace, atop of which sits an elegant antique clock.
Here, Queen Elizabeth II sits at a desk in the Regency Room after recording her Christmas Day broadcast to the Commonwealth at Buckingham Palace on December 24, 2016.
The now 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was also photographed sitting in the Regency Room at Buckingham Palace in April 2006, looking at some of the cards she received for her 80th birthday.
THE WHITE DRAWING ROOM: This reception room is where the Queen usually enters the State Rooms when hosting a formal reception, passing through an enormous hidden door that is formed from one of the four side cabinets and mirrors. It is regularly used for audiences and small gatherings. It was also the location for Princess Eugenie’s official wedding photographs.
Princess Eugenie and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, posed for an official wedding photograph with members of the Royal Family in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle on October 12, 2018.
Here, Caroline de Guitaut, senior curator at The Royal Collection, poses for a picture with a turquoise silk shift dress with silver floral embroidery by Hardy Amies and a pale blue and gold evening dress by Sir Norman Hartnell during the exhibition preview for ‘Fashioning a Reign: 90 Years of Style from The Queen’s Wardrobe’. Pictured: The White Drawing Room in 2016.
THE 1844 ROOM: Downstairs, on the first floor, is one of the most important rooms – the 1844 Room. This is where members of the Royal Family often receive their most distinguished visitors, from presidents to celebrities. The Queen also uses this room for her weekly audiences with the British Prime Minister.
In 2014, photographs of the 1844 room were published around the world when the Queen hosted Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, who was given an honorary damehood.
Here, the Queen posed during the taping of her Christmas Day message to Britain and the Commonwealth in the 1844 Room on December 23, 2007. In 2018, the Queen also chose this room – with its gold columns and ornate blue-and-gold furniture – to host a private audience for King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of The Netherlands during their 2018 State Visit.
THE BLUE DRAWING ROOM: Arguably the most opulent room in the palace, the Blue Drawing Room was originally used as a ballroom. It is decorated with blue flock wallpaper and columns painted to resemble the stone onyx. It features large windows along the right-hand side that flood the room with light despite its impressive size.
VIP guests are shown through the Blue Drawing Room as part of their visits to the palace for formal state occasions, such as state dinners. Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland and then-British Prime Minister Theresa May are seen here in the Blue Drawing Room at the Queen’s Dinner during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at Buckingham Palace on April 19, 2018.
A view of the ceiling and chandeliers of the Blue Drawing Room, pictured ahead of Kate Middleton and Prince William’s wedding in 2011. It is another of the royal rooms that was used to host the couple’s wedding reception.
THE PICTURE GALLERY: This room was was created by the architect John Nash as part of his transformation of Buckingham House into a palace for George IV from 1825. The long room, measuring 47 meters (154 feet) , serves to connect other state rooms and was designed as a setting for the King’s picture collection. It now displays some of the greatest paintings in the Royal Collection. The paintings are changed quite regularly, as the Queen lends many works of art to exhibitions around the UK and overseas.
The Picture Gallery has always been used for official entertaining. In April 2018, it was used for the Queen’s Dinner during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. It is also here that the recipients of honors wait before being led into the Ballroom for their investiture.
THE BOW ROOM: Overlooking the palace’s gardens is the rarely seen Bow Room. This is where the Queen traditionally hosts an arrival lunch for visiting heads of state, although they are not photographed in this room. The room is also where guests make their entrance to the Queen’s garden parties at Buckingham Palace.
Pictured: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip watch the New Zealand Rugby League Team, the All Golds, perform the haka inside the Bow Room at Buckingham Palace on October 16, 2007.
A view out onto the palace’s 39-acre garden, where each year, thousands of guests are invited by the Queen. Here, US President Donald Trump is seen landing in his helicopter for his state visit in June 2019.
THE QUEEN’S APARTMENTS: Though Buckingham Palace has a vast 775 rooms, the Queen only regularly uses six of them, all of which are located in her private apartments. Here, the bedroom, private sitting room, dressing room and bathroom are off-limits to everyone but Her Majesty and those closest to her.
While pictures of this part of the palace are sparse, photographs taken of Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) and King George VI in their royal apartments were published in 1948 to mark their 25th wedding anniversary.
One mysterious area in this section of the palace is the Bobo MacDonald’s suites, named after Margaret (Bobo) MacDonald, who was the Queen’s nanny, dresser and confidante until her death in 1993, aged 89. It is not known if these suites have since been repurposed or if they lie empty in tribute to Her Majesty’s former confidante. Pictured: A portrait of the British Royal Family in the state apartments at Buckingham Palace to mark the engagement of Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and Philip Mountbatten (later, the Duke of Edinburgh), in July 1947.
THE EAST FRONT: With its famous iron gates, the East Front – also known as the East Wing – of Buckingham Palace is its most famous view.
It was designed by Edward Blore in the 1840s and built for Queen Victoria to ‘provide more entertaining and living space for her expanding family’. ‘Blore’s design included the famous central balcony on the front façade of the Palace, which was incorporated at Prince Albert’s suggestion. Since then, it has been used on many national occasions, including annually at the Queen’s birthday celebrations, Trooping the Colour, in June.
THE YELLOW DRAWING ROOM: This reception room is situated in the south-east corner of the East Wing. It looks out over the forecourt and interconnects with the adjoining suite of visitors’ bedrooms and dressing rooms. Pictured is how the room looked in 1939, the year WWII broke out.
Today, the room is frequently used by Her Majesty and other members of the Royal Family for portrait sittings. Here, Queen Elizabeth II records her Christmas Day message in the Yellow Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace in 2004.
THE CENTRE ROOM: Down the corridor is the Centre Room, formerly known as the Chinese Dining Room, which is furnished in the Chinese regency style, or Chinoiserie. A number of furnishings in this room were taken from the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, a former royal residence. Pictured: The Chinese Luncheon Room at Buckingham Palace, circa 1910.
Source: DailyMail
