Royal Palaces & Mansions

Apsley House - The former home of Arthur Wellesley, better known as the Duke of Wellington, the famous general who beat Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo

Banqueting House - Banqueting House has a Rubens on its ceiling and it’s where Charles I stepped out onto a scaffold to be executed after the English Civil War

Buckingham Palace - The King’s residence is open to the public during the summer when you can visit the Throne Room, Ballroom and drink tea on the veranda

Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace - If you don’t mind the crowd of thousands then try watching the Changing the Guard ceremony at the Buckingham Palace

Charterhouse - A 14th-century priory that happily survived Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries and is now one of London’s least-known treasures

Clarence House - Best known as the former home of the Queen Mother, Clarence House was also the former residence of King Charles and Camilla

Hampton Court Palace - Henry VIII’s Tudor palace contains the State Apartments of several kings and queens, and the spectacular Great Hall and Chapel Royal

Kensington Palace - Best known as the royal residence of Victoria and Princess Diana, Kensington Palace was also the London home of Prince William and Catherine

Mansion House - Mansion House is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London. The Egyptian Hall is one of the grandest rooms in the whole of London

Princess Diana Memorial Fountain - Designed like a stone river with water bubbling around it, this fountain can be found on the south side of the Serpentine

Queen’s House - Built by the legendary architect Inigo Jones in the early 17th-century, Queen’s House once formed part of the Tudor palace at Greenwich

Royal Hospital - Built by Christopher Wren in the late 17th-century, the Royal Hospital is best-known today as the home of the Chelsea Pensioners

Royal Mews - See the Royal limos, coaches and Gold State Coach that are used on the monarch’s Coronation Day, and the horses that pull them along

St. James’s Palace - Buckingham Palace is the monarch’s official residence in London, but St. James’s Palace has seniority over it. It is closed to the public

Syon House - Built by Robert Adam on the site of the medieval Syon Abbey, Syon House and its 200-acre park are now owned by the Duke of Northumberland

Tower of London - Started by William the Conqueror in 1066, the Tower has been dominating London for 1,000 years as a palace, fortress, prison and Royal mint

Trooping the Colour - If you want to see some pomp and pageantry then try Trooping the Colour with its mounted soldiers, marching bands and flypast by the RAF

Windsor Castle - Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite home was reportedly here, at Windsor Castle – the largest and longest-occupied castle in the world