Buckingham Palace (UK: /ˈbʌkɪŋəm ˈpælɪs/) is the London residence and administrative headquarters of the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focal point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and mourning. Originally known as Buckingham House, the building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was acquired by King George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as The Queen's House. During the 19th century it was enlarged, principally by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who constructed three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace became the London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. The last major structural additions were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the East front, which contains the well-known balcony on which the royal family traditionally congregates to greet crowds. The palace chapel was destroyed by a German bomb during World War II; the Queen's Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection. The original early 19th-century interior designs, many of which survive, include widespread use of brightly coloured scagliola and blue and pink lapis, on the advice of Sir Charles Long. King Edward VII oversaw a partial redecoration in a Belle Époque cream and gold colour scheme. Many smaller reception rooms are furnished in the Chinese regency style with furniture and fittings brought from the Royal Pavilion at Brighton and from Carlton House. The palace has 775 rooms, and the garden is the largest private garden in London. The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public each year for most of August and September and on some days in winter and spring. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckingham_Palace
Wellington Arch, also known as Constitution Arch or (originally) the Green Park Arch, is a triumphal arch located to the south of Hyde Park in central London and at the western corner of Green Park, where it is isolated on a traffic island. Built nearby between 1826 and 1830 to a design by Decimus Burton, it was moved to its present position in 1882–83. It once supported an equestrian statue of the 1st Duke of Wellington; the original intention of having it topped with sculpture of a "quadriga" or ancient four-horse chariot was not realised until 1912. 1827 engraving showing the full ornamentation originally intended for the arch, including reliefs and statues. The engraving, from Shepherd's Metropolitan Improvements, was published while the arch was still under construction. Both the Wellington Arch and Marble Arch (originally sited in front of Buckingham Palace) were planned in 1825 by George IV to commemorate Britain's victories in the Napoleonic Wars. The Wellington Arch was also conceived as an outer gateway to Constitution Hill and therefore a grand entrance into central London from the west. The presence of a turnpike gate at this point had led, in the 18th century, to a strong perception that this was the beginning of London (reflected in the nickname for Apsley House as "No 1, London") and the arch was intended to reflect the importance of the position. The arch was built between 1826 and 1830 to a design by Decimus Burton. It was planned as part of a single composition with Burton's screen that forms the Hyde Park Corner entrance to Hyde Park. The arch was originally positioned directly to the south of the screen, with the end of Constitution Hill re-aligned to meet it squarely, to form a corresponding entrance to a grand ceremonial route towards Buckingham Palace. Apsley House, the London residence of the Duke of Wellington, adjoins the screen. It generated considerable controversy and ridicule at the time. Motions were put in place to move it to a different location but as this could have been seen as insulting to Wellington it was left in place on the orders of the Queen and remained there throughout the remainder of the Duke's lifetime. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington_Arch
Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn.
