How Big is Buckingham Palace?
Buckingham Palace, also known as the home of Queen Elizabeth II, is one of the most impressive estates in the world. It is located in London, and it’s been in the royal family for centuries now. Today, it’s the official home of the United Kingdom Sovereign. The palace is clearly massive, but it’s actual size is almost unbelievable. So, how many square feet is the queen’s home?
Buckingham Palace has been in the royal family since 1761
The palace was originally purchased by King George III back in 1761. He purchased it for his wife, and the palace was kept pretty much the same until George’s son, George IV, reconstructed it in 1820. George IV ended up spending close to half a million pounds on the construction, which is roughly 101.4 million pounds today. Since then, the palace has undergone renovation after renovation to keep up with the times, but the building itself is still rich in history. Today, it’s the official residence of the U.K. Sovereign and the administrative headquarters of the Monarch.
Today, the palace boasts 775 rooms and is 828,000 square feet
If you thought the house down the street was big, think again. Buckingham Palace has a whopping 828,000 square feet of living space made up of 775 rooms. According to the royal family website, the palace has 19 different state rooms, which are used for various events. It also has a total of 240 bedrooms; 52 are royal rooms and the other 188 are for staff members. (It takes a village to run the Monarchy.) The palace also comes equipped with 92 offices and 78 bathrooms.
The garden alone is 40 acres in size
A palace as immaculate as the queen’s residence needs massive gardens to go with it. The grounds are 40 acres; most homes sit on less than half that amount. It’s known as the Queen’s Garden, and it’s the city’s largest private garden. The queen holds her annual summer garden parties there. The garden boasts a three-acre lake along with a 156-meter border wall loaded with flowers and greenery. The garden also has a tennis court, and visitors can only view the area when the queen isn’t staying there.
Despite it’s incredible size, it’s only the 14th largest palace in the world
Although Buckingham Palace seems unfathomable in size, there are actually plenty of other places that beat it. It comes in at no. 14 on the list of the world’s largest palaces. The no. 1 spot goes to the Palace of Parliament in Romania. The Romanian palace is an unbelievable 3.5 million square feet. The building is 1,100 rooms and 12 stories tall (it also has eight underground levels).
The royal family owns residences all around the world, but it’s hard to find any of their properties that compare to Buckingham Palace. Kensington Palace, where Prince William and Kate Middleton live, is another massive home, but it’s not quite on the same level as Buckingham’s elegance.
Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook!
