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When
most people think of London’s Palaces, those prominent in their minds are
probably Buckingham and St James’s.
At Trafalgar Square we look at the buildings surrounding this famous London Square which commemorates Lord Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar of 1805.
From here we walk down Pall Mall, where Charles II would have played the game from which the street gets its name. There are some beautiful architecture in this street as well as important monuments.
The first Palace is that of St James’s Palace built by Henry VIII built for Anne Boleyn, and from which the Court of St James’s derives. It is to this Court that foreign ambassadors present their credentials to our monarch when coming to work in their Embassies in Great Britain.
Depending
on the time of the walk, it will be possible to see the commencement of the
Changing of the Guard with the band at St James’s Palace. From here we would
follow the band to the Mall and to Buckingham Palace.
The walk through St James’s Park would take us to Horse Guard Parade, Whitehall, Downing Street, the Cenotaph and to lunch at the Victorian Pub Sherlock Holmes.
The walk continues down Whitehall and Banqueting House by Inigo Jones. This is the only remaining part of Whitehall Palace which burnt down in the reign of William and Mary. The Foreign Office, a grand building, is also built on the part of Whitehall Palace that was often used by Henry VIII as a place of sport.
It
continues down Whitehall, pass the Cenotaph, the Ministry of Defence and the new
Palace of Westminster, from where we can look across the river to the Victorian
and the new St Thomas’s Hospital.
Anyone who wishes to remain in this area can do so, but the walk will continue to the Embankment Gardens and Charing Cross Station.