Travel by Photos – Buckingham Palace and Victoria Memorial

Another popular travel destination in London, Buckingham Palace, which is the official London residence of Britain’s sovereigns and the Queen Elizabeth II since Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne in 1837.  It is located in the City of Westminster of Greater London and is currently the administrative headquarters of the British Monarch. The state rooms, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public each year for most of August and September, as part of the Palace’s Summer Opening.

What really attracts crowds to come over is the Changing The Guard ceremony. This colourful ceremony is held every day (except in August til April where it is held every other day) at the forecourt (main facade as shown in the photo below) where the “frozen” Queens wardens are changing shift. It happens once a day only at 11:30AM sharp.

The detail history and the design of Buckingham Palace will not be touched here. Check it out from the official website of the British Monarchy. Here is the set of my travel photos showing what you should expect to see and whether it’s worth to visit the palace when you are visiting London.

I hate to say that we missed the ceremony when we were in London last Spring. What we saw is the Buckingham Palace behind the gate with a notice board informing tourists the next time to catch the changing guard ceremony.

There are still many people gathering in front of the palace. Some  are tourists like us and others are the locals who came here to relax in the Sunday afternoon. There is a royal garden in front of the palace at both sides.

Right in front of the palace in the middle is the Victoria Memorial, the sculpture of the Queen Victoria. It was completed in 1911 the sculptor, Sir Thomas Brock. The surrounding pool was then constructed by the architect Sir Aston Webb with 2,300 tons of white marble. The statue of Queen Victoria is facing north-eastwards towards The Mall, a ceremonial approach route to the palace. 4 corners of the monument feature dark patinated bronze statues of the Angel of Justice, the Angel of Truth and the Charity. On the pinnacle is the Victory with two seated figures.

A close up of the Angel of Justice bronze statue.

It was Sunday when I was there and the Buckingham Road and The Mall is closed to traffic.

The close up look at the Statue of Queen Victoria.

The Mall in London is the road running straight from Buckingham Palace at its western end, surrounding the Victoria Memorial, to Admiralty Arch and on to Trafalgar Square at its eastern end. It is a motorway traffic on weekdays and Saturday but is closed for pedestrians on Sunday. On its left is Green Park and St. James Park is on its right. Both are the perfect recreational parks for people to relax enjoying the greens and waters.

If you have time strolling down the Mall from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square as what I did, it’s still worth the visit. 🙂 If you would like to see more of my travel photos in London, click on the Flickr slideshow below.

UPDATED: Click HERE to view the High Resolution lightbox of all my travel photos of Buckingham Palace and Victoria Memorial!

Coming up next is another set of photos showcasing another travel attraction in London, the St. Jame’s Park next and along the ceremonial road of The Mall. After which would be my experience on London travel Day 2 Continues to Leicester Square and China Town. Subscribe now to Travel Feeder’s feed for free updates via email. 🙂 – Travel Feeder, your ultimate travel photo blog

About The Author

Cecil Lee

The author is an avid traveler and photography hobbyist who loves to share with others his travel and photo-taking experience in many popular tourist destinations around Europe, Asia and Australasia. Read the exciting stories with many photos captured on his journeys.