St James’s
Palace is located in the City of Westminster in London, England. The palace was commissioned by King Henry
VIII on the site of a former leper hospital for women. The hospital was dedicated to Saint James the
Less, who was one of the twelve Apostles of Christ. When the inhabitants of the hospital died
from the Black Death, the buildings were leased to various occupiers until
1439, when King Henry VI granted the hospital along with the surrounding land
to Eton College. In 1531 King Henry VIII
took the hospital and lands from the college in trade for royal lands
elsewhere. The hospital was eliminated in 1531 and construction for King Henry
VIII’s secondary palace took place from 1531-1536. The palace was commissioned as a hunting
lodge, close to the official royal residence of Whitehall Palace as well as the
Royal Deer Park. King Henry VIII
enclosed 300 acres of land for his hunting preserve, this enclosure survived as
St James’s Park. St James’s Palace is
one of London’s oldest palaces and is steeped in history. It was the residence
for many kings and queens over the centuries.
The palace was
constructed in the Tudor style with red brick, and in time, the structure
spread to include four courtyards. These
courtyards are currently known as Ambassadors’ Court, Engine Court, Friary
Court, and Colour Court. The palace’s
gatehouse is one of the surviving elements from the Tudor Period and is located
on the north side, flanked by polygonal turrets with mock battlements. The Chapel Royal, the gatehouse, and two
Tudor rooms in the State Department still survive. In one of these rooms there is a fireplace
that still bears the love-knot initials of Henry and Anne Boleyn. The palace was one of the grandest buildings
of its time and Henry VIII’s insignia, the letters HR surmounted by a crown, can
still be seen upon the gatehouse.
King Charles I
took up residence at the palace upon his marriage. After being defeated for a second time in the
English Civil War in 1649, the doomed king decided to spend his last night at
St James’s Palace so he would not have to listen to the noise of his scaffold
being built. He took his last Holy
Communion in the palace’s Royal Chapel the morning of his execution.
In 1689 the
palace became the principal residence for King William III and Queen Mary II
after Whitehall Palace (the former principal royal residence) was destroyed in
a fire. From then on, St James’s Palace
became the administrative center for the monarchy.
In 1809, St
James’s Palace suffered through a fire causing the destruction of the monarch’s
private apartments. These apartments
were not replaced, in turn leaving the Queen’s Chapel in isolation. Marlborough Road now runs between the two
buildings.
The State rooms
were restored in 1813. The Prince Regent
was living at Carlton House at this time, but four of his brothers were
provided houses within St James’s Palace walls.
The Prince Regent became King George IV and later married Caroline of
Brunswick at the palace. Queen Victoria
also married Prince Albert in the Chapel Royal in 1840.
George IV’s
third son, King William IV was the last sovereign to use St James’s Palace as a
residence. The palace remains the
official residence of the sovereign, since the accession of Queen Victoria in
1837, although the sovereign currently lives at Buckingham Palace. St James’s Palace is used for official
functions and for ceremonial purposes, and is not accessible to the public. The Queen’s Guard, consisting of regiments of
the British Army, are responsible for guarding the palace. The changing of the guard ceremony takes
place in the Friary Court everyday in the summer at 11:00 am, and on alternate
days in the winter.
More pictures are available on my website. http://www.lahilden.com/index.php?categoryid=6&p2_articleid=110
A
special thank you to British History Online and The British Monarchy.
