why does buckingham palace attract so many people?

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& i dont mean ‘because the queen lives there’ i mean other things like the history and stuff. I need to know for my uk destinations assignment.
thanks
x

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  1. The Dark Side
    "Because the Queen lives there" IS the basic reason. The state rooms attract a lot of visitors in the summer, apart from that, because they are beautiful and the art, furniture and decoration is worth seeing. It is what it is and it manages to get away with high admission fees and selling expensive souvenirs because of it. And every other day there is the Changing of the Guard ceremony on the palace forecourt, which people like to see - it's a magnificent display of precision marching and music and over the years we Brits have got good at it! There's comparatively little history connected with it though. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch to actually live there - and the famous East Front with the balcony on which the Royal Family appear on big occasions wasn't built until the mid 19th century, and only achieved the appearance it has now when it was remodelled in 1913. After Prince Albert died she hardly ever used it, preferring Windsor Castle, Balmoral, and Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. It only became "the" main royal residence just over 100 years ago when King Edward VII moved in. Even today the Royal Family prefer Windsor Castle and always go there at weekends. One problem with Buckingham Palace - which Prince Philip has been known to complain about and tried to do something to remedy- is that the kitchens are too far from the family's dining room and food can arrive cold. However, being right in the centre of London it is in a good place to greet visiting heads of state and throw the traditional State Banquet for them (though even some of those take place at Windsor) and it makes it easy to get to for people attending investiture ceremonies to receive their honours (knighthoods, OBEs and that kind of thing).
  2. + -

    Buckingham Palace is surrounded by other interesting attractions, namely St James’s Park (lovely in the summer – I used to have my lunch there in the summer when I was working in Victoria Street).
    Lots of deck chairs, summer music bandstands, lakes, bridges and lawns.

    Then there’s the Changing of the Guard, Horseguard’s Parade and so on. Not far from St James’s Park is Piccadilly leading on to the main shopping areas-particularly Regent Street, which is a lot nicer than Oxford Street in my opinion.

    This worth a look:

    http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=30

    and this:

    http://buckinghampalace.co.uk/
    Link to nearby attractions:
    http://www.mytravelguide.com/attractions/near-78690505-United_Kingdom_London_Buckingham_Palace_attractions.html

    and the Queen has her own website – drop her a line! j/k

    http://www.royal.gov.uk/

    Lady Banker
    Reply
  3. + -

    Buckingham Palace is surrounded by other interesting attractions, namely St James’s Park (lovely in the summer – I used to have my lunch there in the summer when I was working in Victoria Street).

    De Lla
    Reply
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