London Walking Tour: Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, to Trafalgar Square

good morning ladies and gentlemen and  welcome to free tours by foot london   uh firstly introductions my name is sinead and i'm  going to be taking you on a journey today of the   city of westminster now naturally you can't join  us in person at the moment it's been a horrendous   year for everyone so we're looking for new  innovative ways to do the tours so you sit back in   your living room have a nice cup of tea and join  me on a very small tour of the city of westminster now ladies and gents this is a highlight tour  obviously when you are able to join us again   in person we'll be able to bring you in much more  detail to all these major sites but today to give   you an example of what we're going to do we're  going to head in to the governing political and   the spiritual heart of london westminster the  city of westminster 1 000 years old now this is   the big hitter so today we're going to start with  buckingham palace saint james's palace clarence   house saint james's park then we're going to head  into the government area and the political area   we're going to head into parliament square  the house lords the house of commons   palace of westminster westminster abbey  finally i want to take you up the corridor   of power known as whitehall and that will take  us through to downing streets horse guards parade   and we'll finish our tour today at trafalgar  square so sit back relax enjoy the journey a   beautiful day here in london and as you can see an  amazing view directly behind me of the london home   and office of her majesty the queen ladies and  gentlemen buckingham palace now buckingham palace   the queen refers to as the office windsor castle  actually is the country cottage but it was built   in 1702 by the duke of buckingham now his name  was john sheffield so it started out as buckingham   house and the first royal family member to acquire  the property buckingham house was king george iii   of england who some of you will be familiar with  the famous last king of the americas who famously   lost the colonies to the americas now it was his  son king george iv upon ascension to the throne   inherited buckingham house and he employed master  architect john nash to develop buckingham house   into the magnificent buckingham palace but  the first royal monarch to officially take   up residence in buckingham palace was in fact  a very young girl who at the tender age of 18   while sharing a bedroom with her mother at the  time in kensington palace a rather overbearing   mother might i add well she was awoken one morning  in the early hours of the morning to be told   she was now queen of the largest empire the  world could ever see and that of course was queen   victoria and she did naturally what any other 18  year old girl would do packed her bags immediately   waved goodbye to her overbearing mother and  moved on into a brand new 775 room mansion   queen victoria was also the first royal  family member to use the balcony you see there   for a public engagement right in the center by the  colliers and she did so to showcase and advertise   her husband's brainchild the great industrial  exhibition of 1851. now you'll notice i came   up some steps here folks this is the victoria  memorial and if you just follow me i want to   show you the statue here of queen victoria now  queen victoria mild obsession of mine of course   she reigned from 1837 to 1901 63 years  seven months and two days on the throne   now i'm sure you're all aware that she held  the title of longest reigning british monarch   up until the 9th of september 2015. when on  that date she was surpassed by the present queen   who has now become the longest reigning british  monarch since 1066 and i think we'll all agree   that's a pretty remarkable achievement prince  charles also passed a historic milestone a couple   of years ago ladies and gents he officially became  the longest waiting heir to the throne in history   bless it now of course our next stop today will  be prince charles's house at clarence house now   we know i have done a little bit of extra research  this morning that prince charles will shortly be   leaving clarence house heading to westminster  abbey for a commemoration service so i want to   try and bring you down there and see if there's  any chance we'll get a glimpse of prince charles   but as we're doing it just to let you know that  in free tours by foot and the city of westminster   this is quite possibly one of the best places  to see the changing of the guard ceremony   now the changing the guard ceremony a massive  tourist attraction has been suspended presently   because of coronavirus but it will be back the  changing of the guard is the changing over the   regiments of the foot soldiers of her majesty  the queen now there are five regiments of the   queen's soldiers the scots the welsh the irish  the cold stream guards and the grenadiers now   they may look like toy soldiers to you with their  canadian bear skins but do not underestimate these   men folks because they have all served active  tours of duty in war zones all over the world   they are what is known as the last line of defense  for her majesty the queen now basically what that   means is if any situation arose the police would  automatically intervene attempt to defuse that   situation by making arrests but if necessary these  men will shoot to protect the queen that is after   all their job a highly coveted position and one  they are hand chosen for and it's a great honor   for them to do so now the guard change usually  takes place monday wednesdays fridays and sundays   of course in the summer months it's every  single day an amazing tradition that's   here since victorian times now we're going to  take a little crossover here ladies and gents and just bear with us around here so in a 48-hour  shift the guards are on duty for 48 hours now that   doesn't mean they're standing in their century  boxes outside the palace or the royal palaces for   48 hours in a 48-hour shift they do two hours  on six hours off two hours on six hours off a   24-hour shift it's two hours on four hours off  now the guard change a wonderful tradition here   now please join us here at free tours by foot  because through experience of working this   area we know exactly where the soldiers will be  and exactly what time they will start to march   they usually start to march from saint james's  palace and the regiment that's going off judy will   head up now we have somebody on the way here  ladies and gents let's have a quick look now   these are the things that you need to join us for  these royal sightings usually it's usually a royal   family member here now i can't imagine we'll see  too many but that's definitely royal family folks now i don't expect we've missed charles yet  though because prince charles will be leaving   from clarence house and clarence house is the  home of prince charles and his wife camilla   now clarence house beautiful residents the queen  mother herself lived there for a period of time   the queen's actual mother it's protected as  well by the guards down here but we usually   have a few royal sightings down here um in  just a moment we're going to head there and   fingers crossed we will see the future king of  great britain heading out to westminster abbey oh my god how amazing was that ladies and gents  i even managed to get a wave now i know he was   waving at me because it was just me and aaron  standing here and this is the excitement of london   you never know what's going to happen and it's  always exciting to see a member of the royal   family you don't have to be a royalist or a fan of  the monarchy for that but this is clarence house   ladies and gents the white house behind me here  that is the home of prince charles and his wife   camilla the duke and duchess of cornwall  now right beside of it some of you may   be familiar this house is called lancaster  house now lancaster house beautiful home as   well usually is where any crown documentaries  or the crown for example or the king's speech   any royal films or documentaries are filmed  they are not allowed to film inside buckingham   palace so they use the inside of lancaster house  now we all are of course big fans of the crown   based on uh fiction uh essentially so they  say but what we're going to do is right now   though i want to take you up to another very  famous palace we're going to make our way   towards saint james's palace now lesser  known palace but no less important   the official palace of the royal family ladies  and gents the house in fact of the royal family   buckingham palace itself is only in the court of  saint james's palace and it was built by henry   viii for his second wife ambolen now she famously  never saw it in its completion however because if   you figure we all know why because she had her  head chopped off in the tower of london now   just remember ladies and gents this is an  interactive tour we're more than happy for   you to ask questions in the comments so please  like and subscribe you will be given updates of   course then in all our videos in london and  i have already made a city of london tour   uh it's a two um hour tour usually but you'll  see that video is also on our youtube channel   any questions you have please don't hesitate  to ask or any comments you have please do so in   the comment section now it's been a tough year for  guides as you can all imagine we love to guide and   we love when you are here with us um if you would  like to join us of course which you will be in the   summer and of course hopefully in march 2021 free  tours by foot is the website london now we are   international so in several different countries  please have a look at our website to see what   tours are on offer um also ladies and gentlemen  we're including a little paypal link there   if you do like to tip your guide today i'll be  more than happy to accept a cup of coffee off   you a cup of coffee doesn't make a difference  how many i drink copious amounts of coffee   so we're just coming up here on st james's palace  now st james's palace is also quite significant   well it will be in the next few years this is  also where the death of a monarch is announced   usually on the balcony here a gentleman will  come out and announce the death of a monarch   now naturally we don't expect it there's longevity  in the genes and it certainly won't be happening   for a very long time but when it does occur it's  a pretty ceremonious occasion um this particular   the queen's death the actual password for when  she dies or the past cold as they refer to it   is london bridge has fallen but a gentleman will  come out on the balcony here and announce the   queen is dead long live the king or the king is  dead long live the queen and as it's usually been   during that period now this is the famous  st james palace and this is the friary court   so when you are on the tour with us ladies  and gents this is where the soldiers assemble   before they march for the changing of the guard  they head past through here and head up to the   palace and then the new relief will arrive from  wellington barracks so also an incredible spot but   again when you join us we will make sure you get  the best visuals now this palace was also the home   to prince charles prince william and prince harry  up until 2003 it's also where king charles the   first of england the only british king in history  to be publicly executed spent his very last night   just to give you a quick idea as well across the  road here is the chapel of st james's royal it's   behind this wall now regretfully not open to  the public i do believe that maybe once a month   every year you can visit but that's not entirely  relevant that is where queen victoria married   her beloved prince albert and it's also where  princess diana was laid in state before her very   public funeral in westminster abbey westminster  abbey is of course coming up later on on the tour   now for right now i want to take you through what  is saint james's park now this is one of eight   royal parks absolutely stunning inside here folks  and all the animals in here are property of the   crown so you will get a little feel of it and  the great thing about st james's park and for me   personally the great thing about london you're  in one of the busiest metropolis in the world   in the middle of the hustle and bustle and mania  of the city of london but you're only ever always   10 minutes walking distance from a beautiful  open green space where you can get away from   it all and quite literally feel like you're  in the british countryside in central london   now on the tour ladies and gents  we will be heading through here   and that will take us down towards the cabinet  wall rooms of winston churchill then we'll be   heading into parliament square see the iconic  buildings of big ben the palace of westminster   westminster abbey and then we'll be heading  up the corridor power and finishing up at   trafalgar i just need to reiterate to  you of course this is a highlight tour   it's only a percentage of the information we will  be getting on the actual tour when you do join us   now stunning view of the palace there  in the background ladies and gents okay folks so we're going to take a lovely little  stroll now through the park and i just want you to   have a look around erin my wonderful cameraman  has assisted me today we'll be giving you some   amazing shots of the park now there are 57  acres of park right in the heart here of   westminster just adjacent to the mao now the mall  by the way is the red brick road that leads all   the way up to buckingham palace from trafalgar  square the red brick road was built to resemble   a red carpet now also living in the park here for  over 400 years are the pelicans they were actually   a gift from the russian ambassador to king charles  ii who was known as the merry monarch one of   my favorite kings of britain uh the son of the  executor king king charles the first of england   so what we're going to do though is we're going  to have a little walk over the the bridge here   a very popular spot for tourists amazing views  over the bridge here on one side you will see   buckingham palace between the trees and of course  on the other side you will see horse guards parade   and we will be visiting horse guards parade today  which is where the horse guards of her majesty   the queen are stationed so enjoy the views we're  gonna head through here we know that this is one   of the queen's favorite parks and she's often been  known to take a little stroll through the park um okay change so you will notice ladies and gents when you're  coming through the park that the animals are   quite tame they've become quite accustomed to  visitors in the park now you are not encouraged   to feed the animals but i usually bring a little  bit of apple for the squirrels so let's just see   if we can tempt one or two of the squirrels with  a little bit of apple not usually a problem they   tend to eat right out of your hand at this time of  the year when food is scarce some pigeons as well now we're taking a little route down here now next  we're going to head into parliament square which   is the governing and political side of london it  is home of course to the palace of westminster   westminster abbey the house lords the house of  commons the victoria tower the iconic big ben   and statues of world leaders adorn parliament  square now one of the more famous statues there   i'll show you shortly is the statue of winston  churchill and winston churchill is arguably   one of the most famous british prime ministers in  in london's history but did you know he could also   be one of the wishiest he had a way with words and  he had always had a sharp response for everyone   particularly a witty retort but one lady learned  the hard way and that lady was a lady called lady   nancy astor now she was the first woman to take  her seat in the houses of parliament pretty big   deal at the time for a female mp so nancy astor  and churchill were friends but they tended to uh   well bang heads occasionally let's say and  this particular morning was no exception   she was furious with churchill they had a slight  argument it escalated so she stood up now picture   the scenario in a room full of 200 male mps and  she stood up and she said winston churchill sir   if you were my husband i would  poison you with cyanide to which   winston churchill immediately replied  lady nancy astor if you were my wife   i would gladly drink it always a smart remark from  winston churchill so we're heading down towards   what is called the cabinet war rooms of  winston churchill now a very popular attraction   gary allman won the oscar for playing churchill  in that incredible movie darkest hour and the   popularity surged again yet again after  that personally i think john lithgow's   um winston churchill and the crown was exceptional  but these are the underground offices bunkers and   offices from where churchill commanded and  coordinated the troops from during world war   ii an incredible interactive display and i would  recommend ladies and gents if you are coming to   visit us next summer i would start booking  your tickets for the churchill war room now   it wouldn't be uncommon to see literally thousands  of people queuing to get into the war rooms   particularly when we know the demand will be very  big this summer of 2021 and we are super excited   about welcoming you all back so right across  the road here are the churchill war rooms   and i'll be showing you that next so as you  can see ladies and gents we're approaching   the cabinet war rooms are right here a little  tucked away and hidden at the back of whitehall   but very easy to find and we will be showing you  where anything you need um anywhere you need to   go in london as well on the tours but here is  the churchill warrens and churchill himself   actually stood on the roof of that very  building watching bombs this is the treasury   by by the way the offices of the chancellor  of the exchequer the minister for finance   his home incidentally is number 11 downing street  reese schunak lives next door to the present the   current prime minister boris johnson and he stood  on the roof of that very building and he watched   bombs raining down in london during the blitz he  was heard screaming and shouting whatever you save   save saint paul's cathedral and so they did barely  barely any damage more in st paul's in the city of   london tour which you can also see on youtube on  our free tours by foot london website speaking of   world war ii if you were particularly interested  in that era in london and the extensive damage   that was here one of my colleagues can us does  an incredible tour on world war ii as well all   available and coming to you from summer 2021 but  for right now we're going to take a little stroll   around parliament square i want to see some of  the big hitters some of the biggest attractions   in london big ben is under extensive renovation at  the moment folks it happens every 60 years or so   he needs a little bit of plastic surgery let's  say so big ben isn't very visible at the moment   and it is quite disappointing to people when they  arrive but of course when he does come back he'll   come back in all his glory they are replacing all  the clock faces of big ben but our next stop today   is westminster abbey the minster in the west  minster is the former name for an abbey so the   west minster in the west of london just bear with  us folks king william the conqueror of england i think we're okay rode his horse up the aisle  of westminster abbey on christmas day 1066   on that day he declared himself king of england   ever since every king and queen in british  history with the exception of only two   have all been crowned inside in the incredible  westminster abbey attached to westminster abbey   is one of the most prestigious public schools in  this country it's called westminster school now   to confuse you further public in this country is  private the state schools are the public schools   so state and public is public and private  confused yet i certainly am works completely   different in ireland where i'm from however very  very prestigious alumni in the former westminster   school in the form of a.a milne the author of  winnie the pooh sir christopher wren the architect   widely regarded to be the leonardo da vinci  of london building 51 churches here in london   particularly in the city again you'll see  more on that in our city of london tour   and also dido the famous american female singer  when they took in girls into the school now   traditionally was a boarding school but they never  um accept day release pupils as well um rather   bizarre for any of my irish viewers shane mcgowan  the lead singer of the pogues also attended that   was a scholarship regretfully shane didn't last  very long it's a bit of a wild reputation six   months before he was expelled very surprised he  lasted that length of time so westminster school   is the first view you'll see here now the sun  is slightly in our way please forgive us we just   headed a little bit closer to westminster  here's the school and of course the abbey beautiful okay so there's been a sight of christian worship  on the site for over 1 000 years as previously   mentioned king william the conqueror of england  he rode his horse up the aisle of westminster   abbey on christmas day 1066. on that day he  declared himself king of england and ever since   every king and queen in british history with the  exception of only two have all been crowned inside   in westminster abbey including her majesty queen  elizabeth ii in 1953. she became queen in 1952   but a year later was when she was crowned here in  westminster abbey lady diana's very somber funeral   took place in here thousands of people lined the  streets mourning the death of lady diana kate   married william in here and that morning we all  stood here with baited breaths waiting for the ex   her to come out of the incredible bentley  and to see that magnificent alexander mcqueen   creation by sarah burton mary queen of scots queen  elizabeth the first newton parcel darwin dickens   chaucer henry hardy pitt the elder pity younger  browning tennyson to mention only a few of over 3   000 of the most influential people all buried  inside in westminster abbey an incredible place   to visit when you do arrive and tickets  will be available here at the abbey itself   now obviously very quiet at the moment it's just  good for you guys did you get to see london in   all its splendor without the crowds of people but  again when you're with us on free tours by foot   london here in our westminster tour we will be  able to give you the best times to visit the abbey   and the best ways to get your tickets again  another lesser known church in the area apologies just waiting for a little bit  of the traffic to pass is saint margaret's   church now lesser known church but again no less  important saint margaret's church is the church   of parliament square and the politicians church  and lord don't they need prayers ladies and gents   in this very church is where winston churchill  married his beloved clementine in here samuel   peeps was married here so walter rawley is buried  in sight in that very building as is william   caxton the inventor of course of the printing  press beautiful little church free of charge   and lovely to have a little wander inside you are  welcome to attend to any of the church services   in this country by the way and there is one  particular service that is of amazing interest   to everybody and that is called even song and it  takes place here at westminster abbey but also in   saint paul's cathedral and the saint paul's choir  and westminster boys choir do perform so it's   about a 45-minute prayer service there usually  it's a little cue for it but it's incredible to experience the uh abbey in all  its glory and the beautiful voices   of the choir now i want to try to give  you the best views here of the houses   of parliament ladies and gentlemen we just head  down here i want to show you the victoria tower now this is the tallest square  gothic building in europe   home actually to all the parliamentary records  dating all the way back to the magna carta now   the victoria tower was named after queen victoria  in her diamond jubilee 60 years on the throne   we had one other queen who reached of course the  diamond jubilee and that's the present queen her   majesty queen elizabeth ii king george iii came  close but bless him uh he um acquired the rather   unfortunate nickname of madking george iii  of england he suffered from a liver disease   called protheria it eventually affected his  brain and he became so mentally incapacitated   he couldn't perform his duties as king so the  reign went over to the prince regent was his   son and he took over in everything but name  but anyway i'm sidetracking a little bit the   victoria tower is home to the exclusive entrance  of the queen you'll see the arched entrance there   and she'll enter through once a year and  she'll come dressed in the crown jewels   and she'll come to officially open the houses  of parliament these are the house lords   and the house of commons the governing body here  in great britain now the building ladies and gents   is 158 years old or so uh 1843 not the original  building the first houses of parliament burned   to the ground in a destructive fire so this was  rebuilt it was known as the palace of westminster   in 1843 and the building was augustus pugen  and charles barry augustus pugen is said to put   so much of his headspace and life's work into  the rebuilding of the palace he himself ended   up going absolutely mad completely and utterly  insane but one part of the building did survive   and this ladies and gents is westminster hall  the oldest part of the palace of westminster   in that very building is where king charles  the first of england the only british king in   history to be publicly executed by that man oliver  cromwell was condemned to death by oliver cromwell   inside in that very building in that very  building is where guy fawkes of the gunpowder plot   assassination attempt was also condemned to death  in that building in that very building ladies and   gentlemen william wallace of braveheart fame was  also condemned to death inside that very building   incredible history centuries and centuries and  centuries of history in one immediate area now   under construction of course is big ben now a lot  of people tend to confuse this big ben is not the   actual clock tower big ben is the bell inside the  clock tower the 13 and a half ton bell now big ben   we believe gets his name named after either two  men there's a bit of a dispute as to which one   one of them was benjamin hall and he would  have been the commissioner of public works   during the rebuilding of the palace in 1843  but londoners tend to think it's named after   a chap called benjamin kant and benjamin conte  was a prize-winning bare-knuckle boxing champion   very strong tall iconic man again resembling  what is of course big ben regretfully under   massive construction but when she does  come back she will be absolutely stunning   palace of westminster ladies and  gentlemen and now here's parliament square   let's have a little walk around and i'll show  you some of the statues of parliament square so just a little walk around here  you'll see presidents and prime   ministers from all over the world  of course you have nelson mandela robert peel is next obviously the founder of  the metropolitan police force here in london   take a look right at the back there for my  american friends there's abraham lincoln   here we have mahatma gandhi my friends from india  this is a statue in fact of benjamin disraeli   and of course my favorite and the  newest arrival to parliament square   here's millicent faucet edward smith stanley another one here of henry john  temple or the viscom parmesan statue of jan christian smutz david lloyd george coming up  also known as the welsh wizard   and of course the crowning glory pride of place  absolutely opposite big ben is winston churchill   so as you can see this incredible statue in  parliament square he did object slightly to having   it in the square he wasn't entirely happy about it  being erected he wasn't subject to that adoration   however he did eventually agree he  provided he could have his statue   facing his favorite pub and if you take a little  look across the world but behind where those four   gentlemen are in grey shirts there's a beautiful  light fixture this is saint stephen's tavern   and it's a beautiful pop right here in  parliament square so it wouldn't be uncommon   to run into a couple of mps in there inside that  pub as well has a division bell so if there is a   vote cast to be cast in parliament the mps  if they are having a little triple in there   have a certain amount of time after that bell  rings to return to parliament and cast their vote   now ladies and gentlemen our next little  stroll will be up the corridor of power this   is hall home to the cenotaph 10 downing street  horse guards parade the cabinet office the welsh   office scottish office banqueting house incredible  area there are more cctv cameras in london than   there are in any other city and i'm pretty sure  the majority of them are on this very street   let's head up the corridor of  power otherwise known as whitehall it's very difficult to walk anywhere in london  without coming across some form of war memorial   to commemorate britain's war debt and this one  is the most important british war memorial in the   world and it's dedicated to every fallen soldier  from any british conflict this is the cenotaph   and this is where her majesty queen elizabeth  ii herself alongside members of the royal family   members of parliament the prime minister and the  opposition leader hundreds of army veterans will   all come here on remembrance day to commemorate  britain's war dead now designed of course by   edwin lutchens and then you will hear again very  shortly also responsible for the fountains of   trafalgar square so a very somber salute to all of  britain's war dead from any conflict from any war   at any time so the reits of poppies are laid  here every year this is the cenotaph so right   beside the senate half is the ministry of defense  building and this is the building of course the   ministry invent of defense so responsible for  this country's security uh rumored to be taller   underground than it actually is above ground  and top secret ministry of defense laboratories   actually uh underground not that we know too much  about these but there is a rumor between guides   in london that there is a very sophisticated  underground road network in london which connects   major buildings like the ministry defense our next  stop in just a moment 10 downing street buckingham   palace and the grand old duke of york statue on  the map they say that they could successfully   get the queen if there was any major crisis  or event occurred in london it said they could   successfully get the queen and the prime minister  out underground without even coming above ground   now as i mentioned the cctv cameras i'm pretty  sure the majority of those are on the ministry   of defense building so always remember when  you're in london you're taking pictures of them   taking pictures of you now let's head across  the road and behind these black railing gates   is of course the home of the british prime  minister boris johnson this is number 10 downing   street now number 10 downing street obviously is  very very secure there was an incident if you were   here in the early 80s in london you could have  very quickly gone up to the door of number 10   taking your little selfie and off you go but  there was an incident in the 1980s where there was   an attempt on the life of one of the british prime  ministers after that it became a lot more secure   so when you are having a look here in a  moment when we're passing down the street   it's right up the back and it's the blue building  where the prime minister will address the country   now it's been the official home of prime ministers  since 1730 the very first prime minister to take   up residence here was robert walpole and as  previously mentioned number 11 is home to   the minister for finance the chancellor of the  exchequer and his name of course is rishi sunak and i think we all appreciate the fact that it's  been a very very busy year for the british prime   minister a lot of controversy of course  with the whole brexit debate and of course   coronavirus so it's ongoing um i happened to  be down here myself yesterday so it's quite   easy to see him he's tends to fly over and back  in the car between here but a very short distance   to parliament square where prime minister's  questions take place every wednesday you can   of course get tickets to visit inside the  palace of westminster and that's something   i would highly recommend you to do whilst  you're in london it's incredible to see   the house lords and the house of commons now of  course many many other governmental buildings   along the way here's the cabinet office  you regularly see the press outside here   but we're heading up towards horse guards parade  and this this is the former ceremonial entrance   of the royal domain horse guards per parade is  correct it's protected by the horse guards of   the queen now you've two regiments of the queen's  horse guards you have the blues and royals and   the lifeguards famous passports and royals  for example would have been prince william   and prince harry prince harry harry actually  served time in afghanistan with the blues and   royals the commanding chief officer of the blues  and royals in fact is the princess royal princess   anne and one of the more famous lifeguards of the  queen at the other regiment is the singer would   you believe james blunt ladies and gents that's  why he always shows up at those royal weddings   very close friend about prince william and prince  harry so here we are getting your first visual and   we're going to head out the back towards horse  guards parade i'll show you this incredible area now just a brief mention while we're  here because it's quite important   if you look across the road  right by the sign whitehall   you'll see a bust of king charles the first  of england the only british king in history   to be executed this is in fact where he was very  publicly executed on the 30th of january in 1649 also the one place in london ladies and  gents you can actually get a photograph   besides soldiers of the queen so we're heading  towards what's called horse guards parade look at this stunning area in this area is known as horse guards parade  now every day the horse guards do change   over in this immediate area and that is the  changing over of the blues and royals or the   lifeguard regiments every single day  it takes place monday to saturday at 11   a.m and on sundays at 10 a.m but if you  join us on the westminster tour ladies   and gents we'll definitely get an amazing  visual on their way to their guard change now you may notice there's st james's park so what  we've actually done is we have come full circle   around an up white hall and straight back down  here again now this area is horse guards parade   this is the admiralty the chief officers of the  navy here in great britain very famous man that   worked in there actually where we believe he  got much of his influence for his much-loved   novels to come was in fact the chap called sir  ian fleming which you'll all know was the author   of james bond uh but did you know he was also  the author of chitty chitty bang bang ladies   and gents this one for your little pub quiz  trivia uh right behind you here this incredible   building where the former offices of the duke of  wellington the famous victor over napoleon now   it's home to the horse guards and that's  where they're stationed has stables on the   left hand side and an incredible museum horse  guards parade museum now this area was also   used by henry viii for games he's to joust  here it's where the trooping of the color   takes place once a year and the trooping the color  is a celebration of the queen's birthday the queen   has two birthdays her official birthday is april  21st however her celebration usually takes place   i believe it's the last saturday in june or the  third saturday in june and it's an incredible   ceremony because the entire royal family will head  down the mall in the royal carriages so if you're   fortunate enough to be here for the trooping the  color we will be bringing you to see the royal   family so it's an incredible day down here in a  celebration of the queen's birthday this is also   in 2012 where the beach volleyball event in the  london olympic games took place and they set up   for the beach volleyball here also a little bit  of trivia london is the only city in the world   to have hosted the olympic games three times 1908  1948 and 2012. very busy summer in london 2012   because that also coincided with the diamond  jubilee of the queen 60 years on the throne   now this is an original world war ii  bunker folks this is called the citadel   also quite interestingly apparently again top  secret laboratories underground here so not   an awful lot we know about it but apparently it's  also one of the only things not visible on google   maps it's always a little bit of a conspiracy  theory going on now the grand old duke of york   who had ten thousand men his statue adorning the  mall and this area here he's one of the sons of   king george the first third of england his  brother was george iv and he had another brother   william the fourth also kings of england but we're  going to see more statues of george the fourth in   just a moment let's head in to trafalgar square  so we're going to make our way towards trafalgar   square and probably one of the most recognizable  parts of london but as we're doing so i just   want to draw your attention to admiralty arch  this stunning building is the royal entrance   to the mall and it leads all the way up  to buckingham palace now you'll see in the   center regretfully there's a lot of construction  going on but that's just part of life in london   but the central arch right here in the middle  is the exclusive entrance of the royal family   and it plays a huge role in royal ceremonies  this is where the um carriages will head through   down to the state opening of parliament beautiful  ceremonial affair it's where the royal carriages   will head through also in the event of a wedding  at westminster abbey the only time the public is   permitted to use that central entrance is during  the london marathon offers very special occasions   like uh the olympic games now it was erected by  edward vii not the most popular king of britain   he was the eldest son of queen victoria now queen  victoria obviously very popular but edward vii   had the rather unfortunate nickname of dirty  birdie so to gain himself some sort of favor   with the british public he erected this memorial  to commemorate his mother most recently been sold   in 2012 for an estimated 60 million pounds i  believe that there's in a development phase   stage by the wall of astoria to open up a hotel  what an incredible visual you will get of possibly   one of the most recognizable squares in the world  coming up straight ahead of you trafalgar square   getting its name from the famous  battle of trafalgar in 1805   and the victor of the batloch valgar  you're about to see in just a moment   admiral lord horacio nelson and  this ladies and gents is the famous   nelson's column we're just going to cross over  so you can get a better view inside the square so i've known lord horacio nelson and nelson's  column um there was a famous plot by the nazis   actually in world war ii uh they were so  confident in their victory over britain   uh they were going to remove  the column and put it in berlin   however nelson himself of course that worked out  a lot differently more definitely in world war   ii nelson the famous victor over napoleon um he  famously lost his life in the battle of trafalgar   he was killed by sniper fire in the first 20  minutes of action now ordinarily these admirals   will be buried at sea but nelson was such a highly  decorated officer they wanted to return his buddy   back to the uk and have a state funeral for him  in saint paul's cathedral so they decided that   they would pickle his body in a vash of brandy for  a three-week journey from the south coast of spain   of course that didn't work out to be the best  of ideas as you can imagine because by the time   that brandy returned it had seriously depleted  and that's because quite literally the soldiers   on board decided you guessed it we're gonna have  one last drink with the admiral ladies and gents now this is trafalgar square ladies and gentlemen  but we are going to be doing a video a more   in-depth video on trafalgar square so please like  and subscribe um underneath the comments below if   you have any questions or comments as well you can  do so so this is where we conclude our westminster   tour ordinarily would usually take about two  hours that's just a sneak peek of what's to come   but more importantly i want to thank  you most sincerely for joining me today   again please like and subscribe our videos  that's amazing what we can show you in london   virtually at the moment and if you have enjoyed  the tour my name is shinate and if you haven't   enjoyed the tour my name is jose i want to thank  my cameraman erin molson silly for helping us   today and i hope to see you all very soon if you  are enjoying the tour ladies and gentle you have   enjoyed the tour i'm more than happy for you to  buy me a coffee you'll see my paypal link below   thanks again folks and we'll see you  for the next tour coming up very soon

Channel: Free Tours by Foot - London

Views: 282,548

Rating: 4.863277 out of 5

Keywords: london, trafalgar square, westminster abbey, london walking tour, london walk, best london walking tour, london travel guide

Id: __jg98sdg_Q

Length: 50min 39sec (3039 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 06 2021