BBC One North West

Fiona Bruce

Ian Leese

Basil Comely

Marian Lacey

The Queen's Palaces: Episode 1: Buckingham Palace

Documentaries

Factual: History

Buckingham Palace

Episode 1

Episode 1: Buckingham Palace

The Queen's Palaces

BBC One - The Queen's Palaces, Buckingham Palace

Fiona Bruce visits Buckingham Palace and learns of its long history.

Fiona Bruce visits Buckingham Palace, and reveals how England's most spectacular palace emerged from a swampy backwater in just 300 years.

The Queen has three official residences - the best known, Buckingham Palace; the oldest, Windsor Castle; and the most romantic, Palace of Holyroodhouse. Among the few working royal palaces in the world today, they serve as both family homes and as the setting for the business of Monarchy. Each has its own distinctive story - long histories that reflect good and bad times, triumph and tragedy and, of course, the lives of some of our most memorable kings and queens. But they all share certain features - incredible collections of treasures that reflect both the tastes of their occupants and the artistic development of the nation, and architecture that has evolved across the centuries to meet the needs of different ages, reflecting the story of Britain and its people like no other buildings.

Buckingham Palace may be just about the most famous building in the world, but its story is much less familiar. Fiona Bruce reveals how England's most spectacular palace emerged from a swampy backwater in just 300 years. The journey of discovery takes her from the sewers of London to the magnificent State Rooms, from a home for camels and elephants to the artistic brilliance of 18th-century Venice and from a prince's Chinese fantasy to the secret of how the palace's glittering chandeliers are cleaned today.

BBC One

BBC One is a TV channel that started broadcasting on the 20th April 1964. It replaced BBC Television.

BBC 1

BBC1

Documentary taking a look at the stories behind HM the Queen's three official residences.

Documentary series taking a look at the architecture and history of HM the Queen's three official residences: Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Palace of Holyroodhouse.

BBC Two

BBC Two is a TV channel that started broadcasting on the 20th April 1964.

BBC Four

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

BBC One London

London

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One Oxfordshire

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One Channel Islands

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

BBC One Wales

Wales

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Queen's Palaces

Episode 1: Buckingham Palace

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Series

BBC One North West

About BBC One