Back to the End Of The Georgians calendar
Having not been seen in public for nearly 10 years and at the age of 81, George III died on the 20th January 1820 at Windsor Castle. He had
been King for 60 years. The Prince Regent now became King George IV. Unfortunately, when you are the heir to the throne and your parent lives to a ripe old age, you become the
monarch when you are quite old too. George IV was 58 when he became King.
With better health care and people living longer this is something you, young people, may experience far more in your life. The late Queen, Elizabeth II, was 25
when she took the throne and her father, George VI, was only 40. However, following the death of the Queen in 2022, King Charles became King at the age of 73. If he were
to live till he was 100, then Prince William would be 66 and his son, Prince George, if William makes it to 100, would be 69. Young monarchs may be a thing of the past.
George III left the monarchy something else that has survived until today. George III bought a site in London as a family home for him and his wife in 1761. It was
called Buckingham House as it had belonged to the Duke of Buckingham but became known as the Queen's House. George IV, when he became King in 1820, wanted to have an existing
house in London and transform it into a palace. He put a man called John Nash in charge and Buckingham House morphed into Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately all these changes were
very expensive and, after George IV died, the Duke of Wellington, who was then Prime Minister, sacked Nash for over-spending.
Thought we might have a little Buckingham Palace quiz here. Click the box when you have guessed the answer.
How many rooms in Buckingham Palace? 
How many bedrooms for guests and royals?
How many staff bedrooms?
How many bathrooms?
How many offices?
How many lights in the building?
How many people work at the Palace?
You can always tell if the Monarch is in residence as the Royal Standard flies
above the Palace and when they are not there, the Union Flag flies. It is one of the few working palaces anywhere in the world today but, it's most unique feature is that
I have driven my own car into the Palace grounds in June 1970. I have been up the stairs and into the ballroom which is 36.6m long, 18m wide and 13.5m high. I have been
in the same room as Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II. I must point out that she didn't have a radio, in those days, to listen to music but hides a whole band up in the corner of
the room. This all makes Buckingham Palace totally unique as I have never driven into any other palace: yet.
The Palace is the headquarters of the monarchy, where The Monarch carries
out their official and ceremonial duties as Head of State of the United Kingdom and Head of the Commonwealth. The late Queen and The late Duke of Edinburgh lived in the private
apartments on the north side of the Palace. They were the Palace’s longest residents. In 1993 The Queen gave approval for Buckingham Palace
to open its doors to the paying public for the first time to raise funds for the restoration of Windsor Castle following the fire of November 1992. The 19 State Rooms are
open to the public annually as part of the Buckingham Palace Summer Opening.
Forward to 1821AD
