Latest news with #GoldStateCoach
Indian Express
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Inside the Buckingham Palace, with 775 rooms, including 200 bedrooms and 92 offices
If you've ever stood outside Buckingham Palace, pressed against its iron gates for a glimpse of royalty, you're not alone. Millions visit it every year, but only a lucky few walk through its magnificent halls. If you're unable to visit the palace, here's an immersive peek inside the most iconic royal residence in the world. With 775 rooms, including 200 bedrooms and 92 offices, Buckingham Palace is a kingdom unto itself. But access is limited. The entrance for visitors? Gate C at Buckingham Gate, not the East Front flooded with cameras and hopeful tourists. Once past airport-style security and with your complimentary audio guide in hand, the experience begins at The Quadrangle. It's only when you pass into the Grand Entrance, however, that the real magic begins. The Grand Staircase, climbed by presidents and monarchs alike, leads you into opulent rooms: Don't forget to check out the chandeliers, the ceilings—everything is decked out in red and gold. Next, you'll pass the Picture Gallery, with artworks by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Dutch masters. For art lovers, it's a dream. The Ball Supper Room, currently exhibiting the Queen's personal jewellery, including the Diamond Diadem seen on stamps and currency, is a dazzling display. But the real showstopper is the Grand Ballroom, where state banquets and knighting ceremonies take place. From there, you explore the 1844 Room, the Blue Drawing Room, the Music Room (home to royal christenings), and the White Drawing Room, where VIPs like the US President meet the Queen, who may just appear via a hidden 'secret' door behind a bureau. Outside, the Palace Gardens offer a quieter experience, where the Queen prefers wildlife over humans. The tennis court and swimming pool are off-limits, but you can partake in afternoon tea made by the Palace's own caterers. For true royal enthusiasts, a visit to The Queen's Gallery and The Royal Mews is essential. The former showcases ever-changing royal art exhibitions, like Japanese artefacts gifted to the monarch. The latter is home to Her Majesty's carriages and horses, including the Gold State Coach. Tours of the State Rooms and Palace Gardens are open during the Queen's absence—mainly late July to September. Tickets can be booked via Nearest Tube stations are Green Park and St. James' Park, each just five minutes away. Avoid driving, parking is a nightmare, of course. And don't forget: no photos inside the State Rooms!
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Queen Elizabeth Found One Aspect of Her Coronation 'Horrible'
Near the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's historic 70-year reign, she took part in her coronation on June 2, 1953—72 years ago. Despite all the pomp and ceremony, the Queen found one aspect of her coronation 'horrible.' The three-hour ceremony had over 8,000 guests in attendance, including a 4-year-old Prince years ago yesterday—on June 2, 1953—Queen Elizabeth's coronation took place just over a year after her historic 70-year reign began on February 6, 1952 and the death of her beloved father, King George VI. The next coronation didn't take place until May 6, 2023—almost exactly 70 years later—when the late Queen's son King Charles took the throne. Queen Elizabeth's own coronation was significant as it was the first one to be televised, but the monarch apparently found one aspect of her big day to be 'horrible,' according to Marie Claire. In the BBC 2018 documentary The Coronation, none other than the Queen herself spoke about the event—after all, who better to ask? As she arrived at Westminster Abbey that day in the Gold State Coach, the Queen looked every bit the part—but the reality of riding in the coach was 'horrible,' the Queen said. 'It's not meant for traveling in at all. I mean, it's only sprung on leather. Not very comfortable.' It wasn't a short ride in the Gold State Coach, either, as the Queen said she went 'Halfway around London.' 'It can only go at a walking pace,' she said in the documentary. 'The horses couldn't possibly go any faster. It's so heavy.' Per Marie Claire, the Gold State Coach was built as far back as 1762, designed by William Chambers and constructed by coachmaker Samuel Butler. Since 1831, the coach has been used at every coronation, including King Charles' two years ago. The coach was pulled by eight grey gelding horses at Queen Elizabeth's coronation, and on that particular June day, the late Queen's coronation was 'unseasonably cold and wet,' so staffers apparently 'strapped a hot water bottle under the seat' to keep the Queen warm—no doubt only further adding to how uncomfortable the ride was. There were 8,000 guests in attendance at Queen Elizabeth's three-hour coronation, including a 4-year-old Prince Charles—'the first heir apparent of a Queen to attend a coronation,' according to People. The Queen was crowned with the extremely heavy St. Edward's Crown—the same crown her father was crowned with 16 years before her. The crown weighs in at nearly five pounds—which doesn't sound heavy until you think of it balancing atop your head. 'The ceremonies you have seen today are ancient, and some of their origins are veiled in the mists of the past,' the Queen said on that day. 'But their spirit and their meaning shine through the ages, never, perhaps, more brightly than now. I have in sincerity pledged myself to your service, as so many of you are pledged to mine. Throughout all my life and with all my heart I shall strive to be worthy of your trust.' Read the original article on InStyle
