As the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, Queen Elizabeth is set to make Windsor Castle her main home and not return to Buckingham Palace for “the foreseeable future”.
According to a report in The Sunday Times, the Queen usually returns to Buckingham Palace in London by October after her summer break in Scotland. This year, however, she would be moving back to Windsor Castle in the English county of Berkshire, where she had been isolating along with her husband, Prince Phillip and a small group of staff.
The Queen’s absence from Buckingham Palace is significant given that it is likely to be the longest that she will be away in her 68-year old reign. Buckingham Palace is the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom, and has been
so since 1837 when Queen Victoria acceded to the throne. The only time the monarch has left it has been for short periods, in moments of crisis or grievance, or the annual getaways by the present Queen, when she spends time and performs ceremonial duties from Windsor Castle.
Buckingham Palace before Queen Victoria
The large, ornate building, and expansive gardens of Buckingham Palace has served as an important site for the ceremonial and political affairs of the United Kingdom. Before its occupation as the administrative headquarters of the monarchy, it was St. James’ Palace, located about a quarter of a mile away, that served the purpose.
The site on which Buckingham Palace is located was owned by the British monarchy for more than 400 years. In the 16th century, King James I had acquired the land to use it as a garden for the royals. It also had a four-acre grove of mulberry trees, which he hoped to use for silk production.
In 1698, a red brick mansion in this plot of land was sold off to a man named John Sheffield, who was later titled the ‘Duke of Buckingham’. It is after him that the house came to be so named.
