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Buckingham Palace and Changing of the Guard - Referat
Referat Buckingham Palace and Changing of the Guard
• B.H. was built in 1702 by the Duke of Buckingham and bought by George III. In 1761
• It was used by him for his wife Queen Charlotte, that’s why it was called “Queen’s House”
• 14 of George III’s 15 children were born there
• In 1825 George VI. Wanted to change the house into a palace and employed John Nash
• The main block was kept but a new suite of rooms was added facing west into the garden, doubling the size of the building. The French Neo Classical Style was the influence for the design
• But Nash consumed nearly half a million pounds and lost his job.
• From 1837 Queen Victoria lived in B.P. but for Her Majesty the palace was still too small and a fourth wing was added in 1940
• 1911 the palace forecourt was constructed
• In 1913 the East Fassade was remodelled to what you see today
• Work on B.P. was completed just before the outbreak of World War
Besides being the official London residence of The Queen, B.P., which has got about 600 rooms, an own postal service, a cinema, a swimmingpool, a nuclear shelter and about 16 hectares of garden, is also the busy administrative headquarters of the monarchy and has probably the most famous and easily recognisable façade of any building in the world.
The palace is a working building and the centrepiece of Britain’s constitutional monarchy. It houses the offices of those who support the day-to-day activities and duties of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh and their family. The palace is also the place for great Royal ceremonies, State Visits and Investitures, which are all organised by the Royal Household. B.P. is one of the most familiar buildings and more than 50.000 people visit the Palace each year as guests to banquets, lunches, dinners, receptions and the Royal Garten Parties.
B.P. is furnished and decorated with priceless works of art that form part of The Royal Collection, one of the major art collections in the world today. The Gallery, regarded as Britain’s National Heritage, shows art treasures by Rubens, Rembrandt, Canaletto, Vermeer and many others. It’s a place which shows changing eshibitions from the Royal Collection, hald in trust by The Queen for the Nation. Constructed 40 years ago by Nash on the west front of B.P., the Gallery has recently been redeveloped. It was reopened by The Queen on 21 May 2002 and is opened to public every day.
The Royal Mews, one of the finest working stables in existence, provides a unique opportunity for visitors to see the work of the Royal Household department that provides road transport for The Queen and members of the Royal Family by both horse-drawn carriage and motorcar.
The Royal Mews has a permanent display of State vehicles. These include the great Gold State Coach used for Coronations and those carriages used for Royal and State occasions, State Visits, weddings and the State Opening of Parliament. Much of the year visitors to the Royal Mews can also see the 30 or so carriage-horses which play an imnportant role in The Queen’s official and ceremonial duties.
State Rooms today are used extensively by The Queen and Members of the Royal Family to receive and entertain their on State, ceremonial and official occasions. During August and September when The Queend makes her annula visit to Scotland, the Palace’s 19 State Rooms are open to visitors.
The State Rooms form the heart in the working palace and are luxuriosly furnished with some of the finest treasures from the Royal Collection – paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, Poussin, Canaletto, sculptures by Canova, exquisite examples of Sèvres porcelain and some of the best English and French furniture in the world.
The Changing of the Guard takes place in the forecourt of B.P. at 11.30 every day in summer, every other day in winter and lasts about 45 minutes. The New Guard marches to the Palace from Wellington Barracks with a Guards Band, the Old Guard hands over ina ceremony during which the sentries are changed and then returns to Barracks. The New Guard then marches to St James’s Park leaving the detachment at B.P.
Since 1660, Household Troops have guarded the Sovereign and the Royal Palaces. The Queen’s Guard usually consists of Foot Guards in full-dress uniform of red tunics and bearskins.
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