ON THE COVER The Secrets Of Buckingham Palace

What lies behind the grand stone facades? We take you on an intriguing tour for a sneaky peek behind the scenes…

It’s been 25 years since the Queen opened the doors of Buckingham Palace to the public for the first time, with the aim of raising funds for the restoration of Windsor Castle following the fire of November 1992.

Home to Her Majesty when she is in London and administrative headquarters of the monarch, Buckingham Palace is situated in the City of Westminster. Originally built as a large townhouse for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703, Buckingham House was acquired by King George III in 1761 for his wife, Queen Charlotte, and became known as the Queen’s House.

It was enlarged during the 19th century, and officially became the London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. An east front was added in the early 20th century and has the famous balcony on which the royal family traditionally gets together to greet crowds.

The palace has an incredible 775 rooms – 19 state rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, 78 bathrooms, and a 40 acre garden. A whopping 1,200 members of staff look after all those rooms, and jobs include curators, flagmen, correspondence managers, butlers, gravel cleaners (the forecourt gravel is cleaned and combed daily) and social media liaison. They also hire 300 extra staff annually to help cover the busy summer season, July to September, when Buckingham Palace is open to thousands of visitors who can enjoy tours of the state rooms, the chambers and the throne room.

Rooms not open to the public, but which might surprise you, include Buckingham Palace’s own chapel, a post office, a swimming pool, doctor’s surger y and a cinema. It even has its own ATM in the basement!

It’s the official administrative HQ of the Queen – and her home!