[MUSIC PLAYING] As a royal residence and
an official state building, Buckingham Palace
operates in both the private and public spheres. Its size and grandeur exceeds
general knowledge and maybe even expectation,
giving individuals living in Buckingham Palace
access to much more than meets the eye. So today we're
going to take a look at what it's like to live
at Buckingham Palace. But before we get started,
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famous historical locations you would like to hear about. OK, time for a Weird
History fit for a queen. Buckingham Palace includes
775 rooms, 19 of which are designated as State Rooms. Some of the challenges
of the aging structure, including a leaking roof
and falling detritus, may not seem like the
ideal living situation. But as part of the
palace's history, these defects could
just be considered part of the building's charm. And indeed, while these
problems could be easily fixed, the royal family prefers
to leave it as is. In fact, According to
historian Ellen Leslie, none of the State Rooms
have been redecorated for more than six decades, which
was a very deliberate decision. "Most people
decorate their houses mainly for fashion reasons every
10 years or so," Leslie said, "but this isn't what the
royal family are into when it comes to Buckingham Palace. They want it to keep
looking the same. Each of the State Rooms
is elaborately decorated and requires a fair
amount of upkeep." According to Leslie, "The
reason it's lasted so well is that it was
furnished and decorated to a very high standard
in the first place. A lot of the interior is based
on the inspirations of Edward VII, who loved the place." Buckingham House was
acquired by the royal family during the mid-18th century and
transitioned to a formal palace under the auspices
of King George IV. During the 1820s, George
IV and architect John Nash expanded the house
into a palace, which entailed
rebuilding and adding numerous rooms, as well
as a healthy amount of elaborate decor. While some upgrades
have taken place throughout Buckingham
Palace over the years, they haven't been enough to keep
the residential and official areas current. In 2017, the British government
allocated 500 million pounds to upgrade water pipes,
electrical wiring, light fittings, and
radiators, some of which dated back to
before World War II. Despite the improvements,
defects remain. According to Sir Alan Reid,
the keeper of the privy piece, water often leaks from the
roof of Buckingham Palace and has to be captured
in buckets below. In addition to some practical
and aesthetic changes, safety issues need to
be addressed as well. On one occasion, a piece
of falling masonry almost hit Princess Anne in the head. The repairs are to take
place over more than 10 years as a multi-phase operation. Until then,
princesses are advised to keep an eye out for
falling bits of the ceiling. The British government may have
invested 500 million pounds into revamping
Buckingham Palace but it wasn't without controversy,
for while the British public is generally fond of
the Royals, they're not too hot on footing the bill
for their home improvements. In fact, when the repairs
first became an issue, a petition circulated
in the United Kingdom demanding the royal family
pay for the work themselves. Several members of Parliament
echoed the call for the Royals to fund the renovation
but Queen Elizabeth II insists she doesn't
own Buckingham Palace, unlike several of
her other residences. As a working home,
however, Buckingham Palace serves as the base residence for
the queen, God save the queen but let the queen
save her own house. Located on the north
side of Buckingham Palace are three private apartments
occupied by Queen Elizabeth II. While who should foot
the bill for the palace repairs is a matter of
debate, the Queen herself uncontroversially pays
for the furnishings in her nine-room apartment. Elizabeth and her late husband,
Prince Philip reportedly slept apart in separate rooms
because the Queen enjoys having the windows open
even in the coldest months According to Lady Pamela
Hicks, Philip's first cousin, it also just generally
remains a common practice among the British
upper class, sleeping in separate rooms that is,
not leaving the windows open when it's cold. Aptly named the Throne
Room, one of the State Rooms in Buckingham Palace
is home to two thrones called the Chairs of Estate. The chairs were made for the
coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband,
Prince Philip in 1953. Chairs used by previous
rulers King George VI, crowned in 1937, and Queen
Victoria, crowned in 1837 are located in the room as well. Elizabeth II's
throne is embroidered with EIIR, her royal cipher
for Elizabeth II Regina. And has only been set upon once. After her coronation
ceremony, the queen used the throne chair now
located at Windsor Castle. The 40 acres of gardens
at Buckingham Palace feature more than 300 types
of British wildflowers, 150 trees, 30 species of
birds, and numerous types of moths and butterflies. Within the garden, there's a
lake that spans three acres and has its own small island. On the island, the palace
keeps Italian honeybees, and the queen enjoys organic
honey made by the bees. London's oldest
helicopter pad also takes up some garden space,
as does a tennis court, the herbaceous border, and
ornamentation like the Waterloo Vase. In many ways, Buckingham
Palace is autonomous, offering amenities
like a post office, cafeteria, movie theater, and
doctor's office for the staff. These features make
it easy for employees to take care of personal matters
without ever having to leave. Additional facilities include a
swimming pool, gym, and chapel. The staff can also join
a book club or choir or benefit from on-site
counseling services. Costs for the medical
facilities were the subject of public criticism in 2008. The Health Service Journal
revealed 300 household staff were receiving medical services
at a rate nearly two times the national average. This was especially troubling
because the National Health Services in Britain closed down
much larger medical practices with lower expenses. At one point, Buckingham
Palace had a bar for the staff but According to Dickey Arbiter,
former press officer for Queen Elizabeth II, the bar
was closed due to worse for wear staff, which is
generally code for people were getting too drunk, too often. Based on reports, the Queen shut
down the on-site watering hole. On at least one occasion,
however, the Queen served drinks in
the palace, handing the Queen Mother's upholsterer,
Kevin Andrews, a builder's tea, a mug of tea with two sugars. In the basement of
Buckingham Palace, a Coutts bank ATM gives
members of the royal family access to cash at any time. Queen Elizabeth II is
said to never carry cash but because the palace serves
as both a royal residence and the site of
matters of state, the Royals are
regularly present. Coutts, one of the oldest
banks in the world, serves the highest
echelons of society, including the Queen
Mother, who passed in 2002. The Queen Mother once
overdrew 4 million pounds from the bank, although
not from the ATM, which was installed in 2001. Buckingham Palace has
188 staff bedrooms. These facilities are
relatively small quarters where workers can
sleep while on duty. When Buckingham
Palace advertised for a housekeeping
assistant in 2016, the position included
staying at the palace full-time, sleeping,
and eating while working an unspecified number of hours. While housekeeping at the palace
is a pretty demanding gig, it's not without
its perks, which include exclusive phone packages
and car leasing discounts. Positions at Buckingham
Palace also come with extensive
training, with everyone from telephone operators
to butlers learning how to deliver
extraordinary service in incredible surroundings. So imagine you're
just doing your job, minding your own business
when without any warning, the Queen of England
just walks into the room and starts hanging out. It's hard to picture
but it happens, at least if you work at
Buckingham Palace it happens. Former palace Butler
Richard Kerrigan for one recalled an unexpected
encounter with the Queen. He was standing and walking
on a 180 person table to fix a flower arrangement
when the Queen walked in. Unable to speak to the monarch
unless approached by her, he continued his task. According to Kerrigan,
he was thinking that it was a quite
abnormal thing, but she's checking to make
sure everything suits her. He added that with the events
we see her all the time. As you can probably guess,
interacting with the Queen is subject to all
sorts of rules, even if you're the palace
butler, like Kerrigan. And not being able to talk
to her before she spoke to you was just one. According to the
man himself, he once got caught trying to take a
picture inside the palace, which is strictly forbidden. And during dinner service,
he and the other servers had to watch a green and
red traffic light system to see when they were allowed
to leave and enter the room. Discretion and protocol are
maintained at all times. Simon Morgan, royal protection
officer from 2006 to 2013, echoed this sentiment
when he recalled his time at the palace. He was both in awe of and
deferential about being allowed into places you wouldn't
normally have access to. According to Morgan,
"You are very fortunate to be in
these positions, to travel by private charter,
or travel first class, or be on superyachts,
or to eat in some of the nicest restaurants
the world can offer, but it's just a job." And after Morgan's job was
done, he went back to being just like anyone else. As he says, "You go back to your
two-up two-down home and life carries on. Your environment
might change but you remember you are still a police
officer employed by the Met Police." Queen Elizabeth II keeps
a regular meal routine, enjoying tea, fruit,
and eggs in the morning. She even has a favorite cereal. We'd like to say it's something
like Fruit Loops or Lucky Charms, but it's just plain
old Special K. She also generally stays
away from starches but doesn't avoid alcohol. Elizabeth drinks in moderation,
enjoying gin and wine throughout the day. Hey, it's good to be the queen. Elizabeth also has bowls of nuts
around the palace to snack on. And is adamant about
protecting them for herself. As a result of
unapproved snacking, palace police
officers were warned to keep their sticky
fingers out of her nuts. Elizabeth also enjoys Tabasco
sauce, Walker's Shortbread, and chocolate, although
presumably not all at once. So what do you think? How would you like living
at Buckingham Palace? Let us know in the
comments below. And while you're at it, check
out some of these other videos from our Weird History.
