Buckingham Palace. This is one of London's most popular historical buildings. Buckingham Palace was built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham. At the west end of the Mall, Buckingham Palace is the London residence of the Sovereign. When the Queen is here, the royal standart flutters over the palace. The Royal Mews, in Buckingham Palace Road, house the coaches and horses used on all state occasions and are open to the public on Wednesday and Thursday. The Queen's Gallery, also in Buckingham Palace Road, has special exhibitions from the Royal collection and may be visited every day except Monday. In its entirety, the Palace and the beautiful gardens which surround it occupy an area of approximately 40 acres. Altogether this is one of the most interesting places in London for all the tourists. The ceremony of the changing of the Guard that takes place daily at eleven o'clock in the morning, constitutes one of the pageants that provokes most interest among the tourists. Every day a large crowd of people gather to see this famous and traditional ceremony. It is an event that, in spite of its regularity, appears vested with that solemn classical ritual, of purely British flavour, that confers on the protocol surrounding the monarchy of the United Kingdom an appearance which is nobly aristocratic, and yet lively and popular at the same time. It is something typically and intimately part of London's character.…
