Today, an estimated 2.5 BILLION people will witness the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. And before you ask, yes, I was one of those people who woke up at 4:00 am to watch it live. Greg on the other hand, opted to sleep. I believe his exact word when my alarm went off was, “Why?”. It’s true, I could have recorded it on our TiVo, but that’s like watching the Super Bowl the next day–it just isn’t the same. For us girls (or some of us anyway), the Royal Wedding is the Super Bowls of Super Bowls! I didn’t get too crazy with Union Jacks, Royal Wedding coffee mugs, and Diana ring replicas, but I did begin the morning with scones, tea, Twitter, and switching between tv stations.
Since our topics here on 7HL primarily deal with house-related topics, we thought it would be fun to talk about the “house” that is on the minds of one third of the people in the world today: Buckingham Palace.
Rather than getting all into the Palace history and whatnot, let’s get to what it looks like today as Kate (or Catherine Duchess of Cambridge) walks the halls for the first time as the future Queen of England. Though this isn’t going to be her and William’s primary residence, I’m sure it was a surreal feeling when she walked through the halls of the Palace on her way to the balcony as a part of the Royal family for the first time. Here’s a little glimpse into the halls of Buckingham Palace and the rooms that will probably be seen by the few (few as in 650) guests who are invited to the reception:
The Grand Staircase.
The Grand Reception Room.
The White Drawing Room.
The Blue Drawing Room.
The Green Drawing Room. Through the doors, you can see the Throne Room.
The State Dining Room. I imagine this might be where the private dinner will be held tonight with William & Kate’s closest friends and family.
And lastly, the garage for the Gold State Coach (which looks like a living room with a carriage in it!).
Just to grasp an idea of how big Buckingham Palace really is, let’s talk numbers. There are…
- 775 rooms
- 19 Sate Rooms
- 52 Royal & Guest Bedrooms
- 188 Staff Bedrooms
- 92 Offices
- 78 Bathrooms
- 1 Medical Surgery Room
- 800 Staff Members
- 350+ Clocks
- 40 Acres of Gardens
- 1 Helicopter Pad
- 1,514 Doors
- 760 Windows (which are cleaned every 6 weeks)
- 1 Post Office
- 50,000+ guests every year
- Over 40,000 light bulbs
Whew! No wonder the Palace has 800 staff members! That’s a lot to clean!
What about you? Did you get up early this morning to watch the wedding as it happened, or did you record it so you could get some extra shuteye? Did you attend a watching party or did you (like myself) decide to stay home in your pajamas eating scones and sipping tea?
Royal Wedding photo found here. Buckingham Palace photos found here. Read more about Buckingham Palace here.
I ADORE the royals (I’m Canadian, we’re bred to love the monarchy)….but must say, naming any room in the palace “The Grand So-and-so” is redundant! That entire place is grand!
I was up early watching from my bed! I remembering Diana’s wedding too! : )
I watched the whole thing! I sat alone eating scones from Panera Bread and drank coffee, not tea:(. My husband slept in too. He’s not an enthusiastic royal watcher like I am. It was a beautiful wedding and I think they make an even more beautiful couple:)
Diana would be very pleased.
I watched the whole thing! I drank coffee and ate orange scones from Panera Bread:). (Their scones are delicious!)
What a great idea to have scones while watching the Royal Wedding! I wish I had thought of that…I love Panera’s orange scones! Delicious!
My alarm went off but I just couldn’t do it:(
78 bathrooms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would need 800 staff members too. Haha
Very cool post, Ashley!! Thanks for sharing the Palace deets!
I would LOVE to see the personal and modern touches Kate will bring to such an ostentatious decor. Not certain if we’ll ever get to see though.
I have an aunt and uncle who live on the east coast whose style of home is quite similar to that of Buckingham Palace but on a much smaller scale. When my brother and I were young we hated going to visit. With maturity however I’ve gained an appreciation for various styles and can appreciate the old saying, “different strokes for different folks”. My cousin now lives in the home and she has managed to “warm things up” quite well. I’m sure Kate will manage to do the same. I so hope we can get a peek one day:)
TiVo is my friend especially at 4 o’clock in the morning.
I decided to not get up early to watch. I figure CNN and FOX will be showing the highlights for at least a month:) Saw a little of it. Looked beautiful and like a wedding fit for a queen! haha
I didn’t think I would get caught up in the whole royal wedding thing but I did and loved watching this morning.
It’s hard to imagine 50,000 guests a year! I’d be checking somebody into the Marriott down the road! Either them or me! LOL
I set my DVR for 4 am and then started watching at 5:30. Alone when my guys slept, sipping my tea. Oh, and trying to keep my dog quiet – he loves to bark at the TV! I remember Diana’s wedding too…this one was much better!
I turned the TV on just as Kate was about to get out of the car. Great timing! Watching the previous 2 hours on DVR right now. Glad I didn’t wake up to see that part! All gorgeous and so happy for them. And, I’ve been to Buckingham Palace for the annual public house tour and it is really, really amazing.
I had to tune in. It’s a big deal when a girl actually gets to become a princess.after all, that’s what we imagine everyday when we’re young. It was so beautiful!
How funny I did exactly the same, except that, I’m in France, so for me it was a 10am event!
I took my breakfast , switched channels, tweeted about it, the whole thing ^^
I DVRed it, and I loved it!! So gorgeous!
I love your Buckingham Palace fact sheet! I also set my alarm for 4:00AM and got my butt right out of bed. I tweeted throughout the whole thing until my friend came over around 7:00AM. It was totally fun and worth it!!!!
It’s pretty incredible. Wow. I did not watch the wedding. While I have admiration and general interest in royalty, and in England in general (amazing history and I’m a history buff) – I just couldn’t get sucked into the bandwagon. It’s just SOOOO over the top and I get on a soapbox about the class system that events like this throws in our faces. ANYway, Kate was gorgeous and I wish the happy couple all the best!! Now, this might be a dumb question/wondering but, I know she’s married to Prince William now, but I’m pretty sure she won’t/can’t be Queen. Something in the liniage or whatever. Maybe I’m wrong.