Royal Interiors, Part II

[CHRISinUSA]

Well, it certainly is not illegal for me to point out that there is no delete button for the Internet.  Once something is posted online, it exists for all time if you can find it.  So anyone really seeking the same plans that I have could simply Google different search terms such as "Buckingham Palace floor plans" and so forth.  It likely won't come up on the first few pages, but I suspect if you're willing to dedicate 20-30 minutes on the search, you will end up happily in possession of the plans.  Good luck!

[MarshieM]

searching over 1 hour and still no results...

[CHRISinUSA]

This link - which redirects directly to a page on this forum, shows the ground floor plans pre Victorian (before the ballroom wing added).
http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=6957.15

This link shows a hand-drawn plan of the State rooms (west front)
http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoX5ndCdRXQsAjXmJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dbuckingham%2Bpalace%2Bfloor%2Bplans%26fr%3Dyfp-t-900%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D6&w=450&h=185&imgurl=46-236-36-161.servers.dedipower.net%2Fimages%2Faccess%2Fbp_floorplan.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2F46-236-36-161.servers.dedipower.net%2Fdefault.asp%3Faction%3Darticle%26amp%3BID%3D881&size=15.5+KB&name=The+Royal+Collection+-+The+State+Rooms%2C+%3Cb%3EBuckingham+Palace%3C%2Fb%3E&p=buckingham+palace+floor+plans&oid=4dab758c78bdbc6f2c10a131925969d9&fr2=piv-web&fr=yfp-t-900&tt=The%2BRoyal%2BCollection%2B-%2BThe%2BState%2BRooms%252C%2B%253Cb%253EBuckingham%2BPalace%253C%252Fb%253E&b=0&ni=48&no=6&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=12ghkl22e&sigb=13mtrccho&sigi=122q301pt&.crumb=QBe8rtL0zPh

[traditionalist]

Here is a floor plan of Buckingham Palace (the ground floor) n the way it would of appeared before the addition of Blore the bore, i still cant find one of the state floor from this time though without the east range, there is one of the queens apartments without the east range but not the whole state floor.
I think the image below may have actually been printed after the east range was added but it does give someone a much better idea.

[CHRISinUSA]

Interesting - I notice a few things that have been changed in the main block and north wing since that time.  This plan doesn't appear to have the Minister's Staircase (at the north end of the Marble Hall).  Also, the open area just beyond that spot has since been "taken up" by the Belgian Corridors. 

In the north wing, the King's Staircase (from the Prince of Wales entrance via the courtyard) also doesn't seem to be here, while the large staircase just west of this (between the Sovereign's Entrance and the Prince of Wales entrance) looks much larger and in a different spot than it is on later plans. 

[toddy]

the kings staircase is in the middle of the north wing in the middle you can see it  near the forcourt

[CHRISinUSA]

But according to photos I've seen, and my later floor plans, the present King's Staircase winds up around the Prince of Wales Entrance hall from the courtyard.  This plan shows the half-flight of steps rising to the corridor, but doesn't show the staircase continuing upward in the same space.

And in my later plans, that large staircase you are referring to as the King's Staircase (further west) is no longer there - it is replaced by three small offices or bedrooms.  The newer plans show a smaller staircase and the Queen's Lift next to that space (directly in front of the Sovereign's Entrance from the north front).

It seems to me that when the East Front was added (at which time the Prince's Staircase was built into the northeast corner of the palace), that likely triggered the relocation of other staircases along the north wing for better flow.  Some stairs were added, others eliminated.

[MarshieM]

30s interior pics of Royal Lodge, Windsor:

[Eric_Lowe]

I remember that desk. Princess Margaret & Snowdon posed there.

[Windsor]

Does anyone know how William and Catherine's apartment remodel is progressing in Kensington Palace?

[RoyalWatcher]

There is little known about the construction going on within Apartment 1A. It has been reported that asbestos was found and has been removed, that the state will pay for all major repairs/construction while the royals will pay for all decoration costs privately, and that their move-in date is sometime this fall. Other than that, really not too many details have been shared. I wouldn't be surprised if the palace released a few photos once the work has been done....maybe not in the same vein as when Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark moved into the recently remolded Frederik VIII's Palace, but perhaps a few. Fingers crossed!

[Eric_Lowe]

It will be their taste.

[MarshieM]

Wonderful photos of rooms in Buckingham Palace from Royal Collection website :

XVIII Room (part of Belgian Suite):



1855 Room:



Yellow Drawing Room:





Glimpse of the Spanish Room (part of Belgian Suite):



Glimpse of the Orleans Bedroom (part of Belgian Suite):

[RoyalWatcher]

It's quite shocking to read about the most recent security breach at Buckingham Palace whereby a man was able to scale the 12' perimeter, break his way through a palace door and make it up to the 1st Floor State Rooms. The police are not saying in which room the man was arrested, but it was via a motion detector that alerted the palace guards. And, get this, after questioning the man, they let him go! Apparently he has to appear in court in October, but they let him go. Unbelievable.

How does this happen with the tight security at the palace? I guess it's not tight enough. It must be hard guarding such a large building with so many possible methods of entry. Windsor Castle must be even worse. But, with all the latest technology and the number of guards on duty at any given time it's still shocking that a breach can still happen. 

[RoyalWatcher]

More of the story is coming out. The man caught within the palace is being held in a mental health unit where he will stay for 28 days for assessment. So he wasn't let go as I had read yesterday; however, his accomplish outside the palace walls bailed himself out of jail.