38-669: Friary Court is a part of St James's Palace in London , England . It is used after the death of a reigning monarch. The Accession Council meets to declare the new monarch from the deceased monarch's line. Once the monarch has made a sacred oath to the council, the Garter King of Arms steps onto the Proclamation Gallery which overlooks Friary Court to announce the new monarch. Friary Court has also been used in association with several other ceremonial functions, such as
76-633: A "pleasant royal house". Two of Henry VIII's children died at Saint James's, Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset , and Mary I . Elizabeth I often resided at the palace, and is said to have spent the night there while waiting for the Spanish Armada to sail up the Channel. Prince Henry, Prince of Wales , the eldest son of King James and Anne of Denmark , lived at St James's Palace until his death in 1612. The gardens were improved for him by Alphonsus Fowle. A riding school, one of
114-408: A central clock dominating the uppermost floor and gable; the clock is a later addition and dates from 1731, refurbished 1834. The palace is decorated with the initials H.A. for Henry and his second wife, Anne Boleyn . Henry had the palace constructed in red brick, with detail picked out in darker brick. The palace was remodelled in 1544, with ceilings painted by Hans Holbein and was described as
152-541: A fire destroyed part of St James's Palace, including the monarch's private apartments at the south-east corner. These apartments were not replaced, leaving the Queen's Chapel isolated from the rest of the palace by an open area, where Marlborough Road now runs between the two buildings. The royal family began spending the majority of their time at Buckingham House, with St James's used for only formal occasions; thrice-weekly levées and public audiences were still held there. In
190-577: A number of offices, official societies and collections, and all ambassadors and high commissioners to the United Kingdom are still accredited to the Court of St James's. The palace's Chapel Royal is still used for functions of the British royal family . Official receptions are also regularly hosted at the palace. The palace was mainly built between 1531 and 1536 in red brick , and its architecture
228-411: A small lake, St James's Park Lake, with two islands, West Island and Duck Island, the latter named for the lake's collection of waterfowl . At the end of the nineteenth century Duck Island was considered a sufficiently remote location for Scotland Yard to establish a bomb disposal facility there; the resident bird-keeper was given the responsibility of looking after the implements kept for dismantling
266-654: A tree-framed view west towards Buckingham Palace. Looking east, the view includes the Swire Fountain to the north of Duck Island and, past the lake, the grounds of Horse Guards Parade , with Horse Guards , the Old War Office and Whitehall Court behind. To the south of Duck Island is the Tiffany Fountain on Pelican Rock; and past the lake is the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office , with
304-468: Is primarily Tudor in style. The Queen's Chapel was added in the 1620s, and Clarence House was built on palace grounds directly next to the Palace in the 1820s. A fire in 1809 destroyed parts of the palace, including the monarch's private apartments, which were never replaced. Some 17th-century interiors survive, but most were remodelled in the 19th century. The palace was commissioned by Henry VIII on
342-814: Is the most senior royal palace in London , the capital of the United Kingdom . The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's , which is the monarch's royal court , and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Although no longer the principal residence of the monarch, it is the ceremonial meeting place of the Accession Council , the office of the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps , and
380-476: Is used by HM Government for official receptions, and the attached Clarence House , the former home of the Queen Mother , is the residence of King Charles III and Queen Camilla . The palace also served as the official residence of Princess Eugenie until April 2018. The nearby Queen's Chapel , built by Inigo Jones , although since the 19th century across Marlborough Road, is still considered part of
418-409: Is used to host official receptions, such as those of visiting heads of state, and charities of which members of the royal family are patrons. It forms part of a sprawling complex of buildings housing Court offices and officials' apartments. The immediate palace complex includes York House , the former home of Charles III and his sons, Princes William and Harry . Lancaster House , located next door,
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#1732773085295456-632: The Charter of the United Nations . The Proclamation Gallery is a part of St James's Palace, and it is used after the death of a reigning monarch. The Accession Council meets to declare the new monarch. Once the monarch has made a sacred oath to the council, the Garter King of Arms steps onto the Proclamation Gallery, which overlooks Friary Court , to proclaim the new monarch. Such an event last occurred on 10 September 2022 at
494-536: The English Commonwealth period. The palace was restored by Charles II following the demise of the Commonwealth, landscaping St James's Park at the same time. Mary II and Anne, Queen of Great Britain , were both born at the palace. It became the principal residence of the monarch in London in 1698, during the reign of William III , after Whitehall Palace was destroyed by fire, and became
532-537: The King's Watermen are all housed at St James's Palace. Since the beginning of the 2000s, the Royal Philatelic Collection has been housed at St James's Palace, after spending the entire 20th century at Buckingham Palace . On 1 June 2007, the palace, Clarence House and other buildings within its curtilage (other than public pavement on Marlborough Road) were designated as a protected site for
570-649: The London Eye , the Shell Tower , and the Shard behind. The park has a children's playground including a large sandpit. The species of trees in the park include London planes , Scarlet oak , black mulberry , and a fig tree. In 1532, Henry VIII purchased from Eton College an area of marshland through which the Tyburn flowed. It lay to the west of York Place acquired by Henry from Cardinal Wolsey ; it
608-467: The Balkan states and Turkey following the two Balkan Wars . Edward VIII when Prince of Wales used the palace as his 'town' residence until he moved into Marlborough House , and George VI as Duke of York resided there prior to his marriage in 1923. The Second Round Table Conference (September–December 1931), pertaining to Indian independence, was held at the palace. On 12 June 1941, Representatives of
646-712: The Colour Court, the Ambassador's Court, the Engine Court, and the Friary Court . The four courts remain enclosed, except for Friary Court, which in modern times is only enclosed by apartments on three sides, with the fourth side open to Marlborough Road to accommodate public gatherings. The most recognisable feature of the palace is the north gatehouse; constructed with four storeys, the gatehouse has two crenellated flanking octagonal towers at its corners, and
684-522: The Less , now the site of St James's Palace . The area was initially enclosed for a deer park near the Palace of Whitehall for King Henry VIII in the 1530's. It is the most easterly of a near-continuous chain of public parks that includes (moving westward) Green Park , Hyde Park , and Kensington Gardens . The park is bounded by Buckingham Palace to the west, The Mall to the north, Horse Guards to
722-412: The London residence of several members of the royal family . Built by order of King Henry VIII in the 1530s on the site of an isolated leper hospital dedicated to Saint James the Less , the palace was secondary in importance to the Palace of Whitehall for most Tudor and Stuart monarchs. Initially surrounded by a deer park and gardens, it was generally used as a hunting lodge and as a retreat from
760-876: The Palace. While the Queen's Chapel is open to the public at selected times, the Chapel Royal in the palace is not accessible to the public. They both remain active places of worship. The offices of the Royal Collection Department , the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps , the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood , the Chapel Royal , the Gentlemen at Arms , the Yeomen of the Guard and
798-597: The United Kingdom, Canada , Australia , New Zealand , the Union of South Africa , and of the exiled governments of Belgium , Czechoslovakia , Greece , Luxembourg , Netherlands , Norway , Poland , and Yugoslavia , as well as General Charles de Gaulle of France, met and signed the Declaration of St James's Palace , which was the first of six treaties signed that established the United Nations and composed
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#1732773085295836-589: The administrative centre of the monarchy, a role it retains, in part. Also, at the time of the loss of Whitehall, the Chapel Royal moved its base into the castle chapel at St. James's. The first two monarchs of the House of Hanover used St James's Palace as their principal London residence. George I and George II both housed their mistresses, the Duchess of Kendal and the Countess of Suffolk respectively, at
874-548: The canal for Horse Guards Parade and the purchase of Buckingham House (now Buckingham Palace) at the west end of the Mall, for the use of Queen Charlotte in 1761. Further remodelling in 1826–27, commissioned by the Prince Regent (later George IV ) and overseen by the architect and landscaper John Nash , saw the canal's conversion into a more naturally-shaped lake, and formal avenues rerouted to romantic winding pathways. At
912-449: The christening of Prince George of Wales in the adjoining Chapel Royal . Aside from ceremonial functions it hosts royal charity events of which the royal family are an integral part. 51°30′16″N 0°08′15″W / 51.5044°N 0.1374°W / 51.5044; -0.1374 This article related to British royalty is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . St James%27s Palace St James's Palace
950-450: The devices. It now houses pumps and water treatment machinery for the lake and fountains. A resident colony of pelicans has been a feature of the park since a Russian ambassador donated them to Charles II in 1664. While most of the birds' wings are clipped, there is a pelican which can be seen flying, occasionally beyond the confines of the Park. The Blue Bridge across the lake affords
988-552: The east, and Birdcage Walk to the south. It meets Green Park at Queen's Gardens with the Victoria Memorial at its centre, opposite the entrance to Buckingham Palace. St James's Palace is on the opposite side of The Mall. The closest London Underground stations are St James's Park , Green Park , Victoria , and Westminster . The park is Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens . The park has
1026-466: The first in England, was built for Henry at St James's Palace between 1607 and 1609, and then a library with sculptural decoration by Maximilian Colt . Henry also installed a menagerie with pet birds including a pair of ostriches . Charles II was born at the palace on 29 May 1630; his parents were Charles I , who ruled the three kingdoms of England , Scotland and Ireland , and Henrietta Maria ,
1064-518: The formal court and occasionally as a royal guest house. After the Palace of Whitehall burned down , the palace took on administrative functions for the monarchy. It increased in importance during the reigns of the Hanoverian monarchs but began to be displaced by Buckingham Palace in the early 19th century. After decades of being used increasingly only for formal occasions, the move was formalised by Queen Victoria in 1837. The palace now houses
1102-407: The late 18th century, George III refurbished the state apartments but neglected the living quarters. The last monarch to take up residence at St. James's, at least part of the year, was William IV . He had earlier built Clarence House on adjacent palace grounds and connecting it to the palace. Queen Victoria formalised the move in 1837, ending the status of St James's as the primary residence of
1140-413: The monarch; it became used during her reign as a venue for courts, levees and other ceremonies. It was nevertheless where Victoria married her husband, Prince Albert , in 1840, and where, eighteen years later, their eldest child, Princess Victoria married her husband, Prince Frederick of Prussia . In 1912–1913 the palace was the venue for the international conference that arranged the treaty between
1178-715: The palace. In 1757, George II donated the Palace library to the British Museum ; this gift was the first part of what later became the Royal Collection . George III found St James's unsuitable. The Tudor palace was regarded as uncomfortable and its now built up area as not affording its residents enough privacy, or the space to withdraw from the court into family life. In 1762, shortly after his wedding, George purchased Buckingham House – the predecessor to Buckingham Palace – for his queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz . In 1809,
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1216-563: The proclamation of King Charles III . To allow the Garter King of Arms and the trumpeters access to the balcony, workers removed the centre window the prior day and installed a temporary door. St James's Palace is still a working palace, and the Royal Court is still formally based there, despite the monarch residing elsewhere. It is also the London residence of Princess Anne , Princess Beatrice , and Princess Alexandra . The palace
1254-578: The purposes of Section 128 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 , making it a specific criminal offence for a person to trespass into the site. St. James%27s Park St James's Park is a 23-hectare (57-acre) urban park in the City of Westminster , central London . A Royal Park , it is at the southernmost end of the St James's area, which was named after a once isolated medieval hospital dedicated to St James
1292-432: The remote site of a former leper hospital dedicated to Saint James the Less . He first used it as a hunting lodge for his newly enclosed deer park, St. James's Park . The new palace, secondary in the king's interest to Henry's Whitehall Palace , was constructed between 1531 and 1536 as a smaller residence to escape formal court life. Much smaller than the nearby Whitehall, St James's is arranged around four courtyards,
1330-628: The sister of the French king Louis XIII . James II , the second surviving son of King Charles I and Henrietta Maria, was born at the palace on 14 October 1633. In 1638, Charles I gave the palace to Marie de Medici , the mother of Henrietta Maria. Marie remained in the palace for three years, but the residence of a Catholic former queen of France proved unpopular with parliament and she was soon asked to leave for Cologne . Charles spent his final night at St James's before his execution . Oliver Cromwell then took it over, and turned it into barracks during
1368-462: The time as a meeting place for impromptu acts of lechery, as described by John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester in his poem "A Ramble in St James's Park". In the late 17th and early 18th centuries cows grazed on the park, and milk could be bought fresh at the "Lactarian", described by Zacharias Conrad von Uffenbach in 1710. The 18th century saw further changes, including the reclamation of part of
1406-606: Was in exile in France under the Commonwealth of England , he was impressed by the elaborate gardens at French royal palaces, and on his ascension he had the park redesigned in a more formal style, probably by the French landscaper André Mollet . A 775-metre by 38-metre (850 by 42-yard) ornamental canal was created as evidenced in the old plan. The king opened the park to the public and used the area to entertain guests and mistresses, such as Nell Gwyn . The park became notorious at
1444-466: Was purchased in order to turn York Place, subsequently renamed Whitehall, into a dwelling fit for a king. Henry enclosed the park for deer hunting and built St James Palace to initially serve as his hunting lodge. On James I 's accession to the throne in 1603, he ordered that the park be drained and landscaped, and exotic animals were kept in the park, including camels , crocodiles , an elephant and exotic birds, kept in aviaries . While Charles II
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