How to Tour Buckingham Palace

You never got that knighthood you expected. Prince William won't return your calls. Face it-—the only way you're ever going to see the inside of Buckingham Palace is if you buy a ticket, just like the rest of us.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Be aware that Buckingham Palace has become a symbol of the British monarchy, yet hardly anyone in the Royal Family has cared for the place. It's small by the standards of European palaces. Queen Victoria found it inadequate for the purposes of raising a family, so she had the palace enlarged and her grandson George V had it remodeled to its current, familiar appearance. Since 1993 Elizabeth II has opened the Palace for public tours during the months of August and September.
2. Know that tourists only get to see a few rooms on the ground floor and the first or "State" floor. Enter through the Ambassador's Entrance on the southern side, go down a passage, out the Prince of Wales Door and east across the Quadrangle. Enter the western side of the palace at the Grand Hall, which has marble floors, columns and statuary and Regency mahogany furniture. Ascend the marble Grand Staircase, past portraits of Queen Victoria's immediate family, to the State floor.
3. Be aware that the Guard Room is at the top of the stairs. Lined with statuary, the room is more decorative than practical, as it's not big enough to accommodate a full contingent of guards. From the Guard Room proceed into the Green Drawing Room. This two-story high room with walls hung with green silk, was designed by architect John Nash with an elaborately coved and domed ceiling. It is the room guests gather in before being ushered into the presence of the Queen in the Throne Room or Music Room.
4. Head north into the Throne Room. This is used chiefly for the presentation of formal addresses and royal wedding photographs. The room includes a plaster frieze depicting the War of the Roses, plaster medallions on the ceiling coving of the stars of the Order of the Garter and the heraldry of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, Hanover and Ireland. The thrones of the Queen and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh stand on a dais at the north end of the room.
5. Go west, then south down the 155-foot-long Picture Gallery, which includes paintings by Vermeer, Rubens, Rembrandt, van Dyck, Hals, Poussin and Reni. Beyond this is the Silk Tapestry Room which, confusingly, no longer contains any silk tapestries, though there is a French Rococo clock and a Zuccarelli painting.
6. Go to the East Gallery, which is south of the Grand Staircase, to see paintings by Rubens, Lawrence, Reynolds and Benjamin West, but the most familiar painting is probably Winterhalter's "The Family of Queen Victoria." The State Supper Room and the Ballroom open off this gallery, but they're not open to tours. Turn west and go up the Cross Gallery to the West Gallery, which is hung with Gobelin tapestries
7. Proceed north to the State Dining Room. The walls and carpet are bright scarlet, the dining table includes several pieces of silver gilt table ware. Beyond this is the Blue Drawing Room, which is used as a reception room before luncheons and state occasions. One of the most important pieces in this room is the porcelain "Table of the Grand Commanders," which was commissioned by Napoleon but was presented by Louis XVIII to the future George IV after the Bourbon restoration.
8. Go to the Music Room, where guests are presented to the Queen before important occasions. It has a bow window overlooking the palace grounds, a domed and vaulted ceiling and elaborate parquet flooring. The White Drawing Room next door, which is dominated by eighteenth-century French furniture, a gilded piano and a portrait of Queen Alexandra, is where the Royal Family gathers before meeting their guests on important occasions.
9. Proceed from the White Drawing Room through the Ante Room and down the Ministers' Staircase to the ground floor. At the bottom of the stairs is Canova's "Mars and Venus" statue. Go south down the Marble Hall, with its paintings of Queen Victoria's relatives and Canova's "Fountain Nymph with Putto." Turn west into the Bow Room, with its eighteenth-century porcelain dinner service and yes, more portraits of Victoria's family. Exit through the French windows and go through the gardens to Grosvenor Gate to Grosvenor Place.