Buckingham Palace Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Mid 20th century to present day=== [[File:Victoria Memorial from within Buckingham Palace.jpg|thumb|The [[Victoria Memorial, London|Victoria Memorial]] during a dress rehearsal for [[Trooping the Colour]] in 2015, seen from within the Palace]] Many of the palace's contents are part of the [[Royal Collection]]; they can, on occasion, be viewed by the public at the [[King's Gallery]], near the Royal Mews. The purpose-built gallery opened in 1962 and displays a changing selection of items from the collection.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the Royal Collection |url=https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/about |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620184509/https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/about |archive-date=20 June 2017 |access-date=8 March 2016 |publisher=[[Royal Collection Trust]]}}</ref> It occupies the site of the chapel that was destroyed in the Second World War.<ref name="who built"/> The palace was designated a Grade I [[listed building]] in 1970.<ref name="NHLE">{{National Heritage List for England| num=1239087 |desc=Buckingham Palace |grade=I |access-date=18 November 2016}}</ref> Its state rooms have been open to the public during August and September and on some dates throughout the year since 1993. The money raised in entry fees was originally put towards the rebuilding of Windsor Castle after the [[1992 Windsor Castle fire|1992 fire]] devastated many of its staterooms.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 November 1997 |title=Windsor Castle – five years from disaster to triumph |publisher=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/31069.stm |url-status=live |access-date=8 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402101032/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/31069.stm |archive-date=2 April 2012}}</ref> In the year to 31 March 2017, 580,000 people visited the palace, and 154,000 visited the gallery.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Royal Collection Enterprises Limited |date=28 September 2017 |title=Full accounts made up to 31 March 2017 |url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/02778486/filing-history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207005607/https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/02778486/filing-history |archive-date=7 February 2018 |access-date=6 February 2018 |publisher=Companies House |page=3}}</ref> In 2004, the palace attempted to claim money from the community energy fund to heat Buckingham Palace, but the claim was rejected due to fear of public backlash.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gabbatt |first=Adam |date=24 September 2010 |title=Queen asked for poverty grant to heat palaces |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/sep/24/queen-poverty-grant-buckingham-palace |access-date=6 May 2023}}</ref> The palace used to [[Racial segregation in the United Kingdom|racially segregate]] staff. In 1968, [[Charles Tryon, 2nd Baron Tryon]], acting as treasurer to [[Queen Elizabeth II]], sought to exempt Buckingham Palace from full application of the [[Race Relations Act 1968]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last1=Pegg |first1=David |last2=Evans |first2=Rob |date=2 June 2021 |title=Buckingham Palace banned ethnic minorities from office roles, papers reveal |url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/02/buckingham-palace-banned-ethnic-minorities-from-office-roles-papers-reveal |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310121328/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/02/buckingham-palace-banned-ethnic-minorities-from-office-roles-papers-reveal |archive-date=10 March 2022 |access-date=15 March 2022 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite magazine |last=Vanderhoof |first=Erin |date=11 June 2021 |title=Why the Scandal Around Buckingham Palace's Racist 1960s Hiring Policy Still Resonates |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/06/buckingham-palace-racist-1960s-hiring-policy-scandal |url-status=live |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023121337/https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2021/06/buckingham-palace-racist-1960s-hiring-policy-scandal |archive-date=23 October 2021 |access-date=15 March 2022}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=March 2024}} He stated that the palace did not hire people of colour for clerical jobs, only as domestic servants. He arranged with civil servants for an exemption that meant that complaints of racism against the royal household would be sent directly to the [[Home Secretary]] and kept out of the legal system.<ref name=":2"/> The palace, like Windsor Castle, is owned by the reigning monarch in right of [[the Crown]]. Occupied royal palaces are not part of the [[Crown Estate]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=House of Commons Treasury Committee |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2I2nYZ-VJgMC |title=The Management of the Crown Estate: Eighth Report of Session 2009–10 |publisher=Stationery Office |date=2010 |isbn=978-0-2155-5322-5 |volume=1 |page=30 |quote=Windsor Castle is an occupied Royal Palace and therefore not part of the Crown Estate. |access-date=6 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929153341/https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_management_of_the_Crown_Estate/2I2nYZ-VJgMC |archive-date=29 September 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> nor are they the monarch's personal property, unlike [[Sandringham House]] and [[Balmoral Castle]].<ref>{{Cite Hansard|title=Royal Property|jurisdiction=United Kingdom|house=House of Commons|date=16 January 1995|volume=252|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1995/jan/16/royal-property#S6CV0252P0_19950116_CWA_187|column=301W}} [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1995/jan/16/royal-property#S6CV0252P0_19950116_CWA_187]</ref> The [[Government of the United Kingdom]] is responsible for maintaining the palace in exchange for the profits made by the Crown Estate.<ref>{{Cite web |last=HM Treasury |title=Sovereign Grant Act: frequently asked questions relating to the Act and on general issues |url=http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/leg_sovereign_grant_faq.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130129110402/http:/www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/leg_sovereign_grant_faq.htm |archive-date=29 January 2013 |access-date=22 May 2016 |publisher=The National Archives}}</ref> In 2015, the State Dining Room was closed for a year and a half because its ceiling had become potentially dangerous.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Martin |date=23 March 2017 |title=Emergency repair work to Buckingham Palace's State Dining Room nears completion |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/emergency-repair-work-to-buckingham-palace's-state-dining-room-nears-completion |access-date=8 March 2021 |website=The Art Newspaper }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> A 10-year schedule of maintenance work, including new plumbing, wiring, boilers and radiators, and the installation of solar panels on the roof, has been estimated to cost £369 million and was approved by the prime minister in November 2016. It will be funded by a temporary increase in the [[Sovereign Grant]] paid from the income of the Crown Estate and is intended to extend the building's working life by at least 50 years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gordon Rayner |date=18 November 2016 |title=Queen to remain in residence as Buckingham Palace gets £369m taxpayer-funded facelift to avert 'catastrophic building failure' |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/18/buckingham-palace-to-get-369m-facelift-over-10-years |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=18 November 2016 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/18/buckingham-palace-to-get-369m-facelift-over-10-years |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=18 November 2016 |title=Buckingham Palace to get £369m refurbishment |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38025513 |url-status=live |access-date=18 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118120956/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38025513 |archive-date=18 November 2016}}</ref> In 2017, the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] backed funding for the project by 464 votes to 56.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 March 2017 |title=Buckingham Palace repairs funding approved by MPs |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39280770 |url-status=live |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122194237/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39280770 |archive-date=22 November 2018}}</ref> Buckingham Palace is a symbol and home of the British monarchy, an art gallery and a tourist attraction. Behind the gilded railings and gates that were completed by the [[Bromsgrove Guild]] in 1911,<ref name="rob9"/> lies Webb's famous façade, which was described in a book published by the [[Royal Collection Trust]] as looking "like everybody's idea of a palace".<ref name="rob9"/> It has not only been a weekday home of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip but was also the London residence and office of the [[Prince Andrew, Duke of York|Duke of York]] until 2023.<ref>{{cite news |title=King Charles 'tells Prince Andrew there is no place' for him at Buckingham Palace|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/royal-family/prince-andrew-king-charles-buckingham-palace-b2269728.html |access-date=17 March 2024 |work=The Independent|date=27 January 2023}}</ref> The [[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh|Duke]] and [[Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh|Duchess of Edinburgh]] continue to have a private apartment in the palace for use when they are in London. The palace also houses [[Royal Households of the United Kingdom|their offices]], as well as those of the [[Anne, Princess Royal|Princess Royal]] and [[Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy|Princess Alexandra]], and is the workplace of more than 800 people.<ref name="fact"/><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hill |first=Erin |date=14 March 2019 |title=Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Have Split Royal Households from Kate Middleton and Prince William |url=https://people.com/royals/meghan-markle-prince-harry-split-households-kate-middleton-prince-william |url-status=live |magazine=People |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402132823/https://people.com/royals/meghan-markle-prince-harry-split-households-kate-middleton-prince-william |archive-date=2 April 2019 |access-date=14 March 2019}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=March 2024}} [[Charles III]] lives at [[Clarence House]] while restoration work continues, although he conducts official business at Buckingham Palace, including weekly meetings with the Prime Minister.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-28 |title=King Charles III's favourite Buckingham Palace childhood feature he'll be keen to restore |url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/homes/20220928152663/king-charles-favourite-buckingham-palace-childhood-feature |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012230408/https://www.hellomagazine.com/homes/20220928152663/king-charles-favourite-buckingham-palace-childhood-feature |archive-date=12 October 2022 |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=HELLO! |language=en}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=March 2024}} Every year, some 50,000 invited guests are entertained at garden parties, receptions, audiences and banquets. [[Garden at Buckingham Palace#Garden parties|Three garden parties]] are held in the summer, usually in July.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 March 2016 |title=About Buckingham Palace |url=https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/buckinghampalace/about |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002102536/https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/buckinghampalace/about |archive-date=2 October 2015 |access-date=8 March 2016 |publisher=Royal Collection Trust}}</ref> The forecourt of Buckingham Palace is used for the [[King's Guard|Changing of the Guard]], a major ceremony and tourist attraction (daily from April to July; every other day in other months).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Changing the Guard |url=https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/buckinghampalace/what-to-see-and-do/changing-the-guard |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624231115/https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/buckinghampalace/what-to-see-and-do/changing-the-guard |archive-date=24 June 2017 |access-date=8 March 2016 |publisher=Royal Collection Trust}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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