What to expect
St James's Palace is the oldest of London's working royal palaces, built by Henry VIII between 1531 and 1536 on the site of a former leper hospital dedicated to St James the Less. For more than 300 years, from Henry VIII to Queen Victoria, it was the principal residence of England's kings and queens, and it remains the most senior royal palace in the country. When a new monarch accedes, they are still formally proclaimed from here, and King Charles III was proclaimed at St James's Palace in September 2022.
Can you go inside?
The palace is a working royal residence and is closed to the public for most of the year. The one exception is the Chapel Royal and the nearby Queen's Chapel, which open to visitors who attend a Sunday service (traditionally around 11:15 am, October to Good Friday, not in high summer). Additionally, a private tour is available on selected dates each year for £85 per person.
Still, it’s worth seeing and admiring the Tudor gatehouse, the guardsmen on sentry duty, and the ceremonial comings and goings from the street.
Who lives there?
St James's Palace is the London home of several members of the Royal Family, including the Princess Royal (Princess Anne), Princess Beatrice and Princess Alexandra. It houses a cluster of royal offices, including the Royal Collection Trust, the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, and the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood. To this day, foreign ambassadors to the UK are accredited to the "Court of St James's," a title that dates back to the palace's centuries as the heart of the monarchy.
The guards
The palace is guarded by the same troops as Buckingham Palace, and the Changing of the Guard ceremony forms up in the Colour Court here before marching down The Mall. It's a good, less-crowded spot to see the soldiers up close.
