While Buckingham Palace is one of many royal residences throughout the United Kingdom, it has been the official home of the monarchy since 1837. Behind its famous gates lie unimaginable luxury and amenities. Click through to see the most fascinating facts about London's most renowned royal property.
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1. More rooms than you can count!
Buckingham Palace is so big, you could easily lose count tallying up the number of rooms: there are 775 to be exact. According to the official website of the British Monarchy, the breakdown includes 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, 78 bathrooms and 19 different state rooms.
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2. It has better amenities than a five-star hotel
Queen Elizabeth's home is like a town! Equipped with a chapel, a post office, a staff cafeteria, a doctor's office (outfitted for surgical procedures) and a movie theater, it doesn't seem like the royals ever have to leave. The palace also has an indoor swimming pool, of course. The pool house is said to be seen to the left in the photo of the back of Buckingham.
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3. The Palace has its own ATM
Cash money! In 2001, now-former head of Coutts bank, Gordon Pell, confirmed to The Standard that there is indeed an ATM inside Buckingham Palace. It is tucked away in the Palace basement and reserved for the royal family.
4. The Queen's corgis have free reign of the place
Who let the dogs out? In Brian Hoey's 2011 tell-all book Not In Front of the Corgis, a royal footman told the author that Queen Elizabeth's beloved canines "are allowed unrestricted access to any part of any royal residence; nowhere is off-limits." As they're not completely house-trained, the pups sometimes relieve themselves inside the Palace and footmen have to clean up after them.
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5. The monarchs have separate bedrooms
There used to be a time when it was standard for most husbands and wives to have separate bed chambers, but in the last century customs have changed. While the author doesn't go in depth into every royals' sleeping habits, Hoey did note that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip sleep in their own rooms. It's not for tradition's sake, however, apparently Philip likes to sleep with the windows open, regardless of the weather.
6. Most massive garden in all of London
A British quiz show in the vein of Jeopardy! touts that the Palace is home to the largest private garden in all of London. The well-manicured greenery encompasses 40 acres - four times the size of Wembley Stadiums, where major soccer matches (and the occasional football game) take place.
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7. It has an underground tunnel system
While there is no secret underground Tube station, as many have speculated, the Palace does have secret tunnels that connect it to Clarence House and the House of Parliament.
8. An unwelcome guest once lived in the basement
According to the Telegraph, once when the Queen Mother was exploring the basements with King George VI, they found a man lurking there that neither of them recognised. It turns out, he wasn't a member of the royal family or their staff, but rather a "friend of a friend" who chose to crash there for a bit.
9. The Palace is not exempt from break-ins
In 1982, a man named Michael Fagan managed to get past the gates and the royal guard, scale the walls of Buckingham Palace and have a brief conversation with Queen Elizabeth before being escorted out by officers. According to an interview the intruder gave The Independent, the 33-year-old tripped several alarms and even stole a sip of wine during his time inside the Palace.
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