Built for Henry VIII between 1531 and 1536, St James’s Palace was a smaller, alternative residence to the Palace of Whitehall. A fire in 1809 destroyed the monarch’s private apartments and other parts of the original structure but much of the Tudor building survives. The main entrance to the palace is the distinctive redbrick four storey gatehouse on Pall Mall.

Henry VIII’s illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, died at St James’s Palace in 1536 and Edward VI lodged at the palace immediately after the death of his father in 1547 as it was considered to be more secure than the much larger Whitehall. Mary I, who was a regular user of the palace, signed the treaty surrendering Calais in 1558 and died there later the same year. Elizabeth I also stayed regularly and was resident when England was under threat from the Spanish Armada in 1588, leaving from St James’s to make the now famous address to her troops at Tilbury.

A fireplace in the State Apartments still has the initials “H” and “A” between lovers’ knots – for Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. The Chapel Royal at St James’s was finished at a later date (1539) to the rest of the palace, as the marriage between Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves was being finalised. The Holbein ceiling was decorated in honour of their marriage, and it includes the words “Cleve”, “Gulick”, “Juliers” and Anne of Cleve’s Coat of Arms.

Today, St James’s remains a working palace. It is the London residence of The Princess Royal and other members of the royal family and houses official offices and societies. It is also the ceremonial meeting place of the Accession Council, the Council that meets following the death of a monarch to make a formal proclamation on the accession of their successor.

It was within the State Apartments at St James’s Palace on 10 September 2022 that Queen Elizabeth II’s son was proclaimed King Charles III and, for the first time in history, the ceremony was televised. It was at St James’s, too, that the Principal Proclamation was read from the balcony overlooking Friary Court – the first public reading of the Proclamation, which was followed by readings of the Proclamation throughout England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

St James’s Palace is not generally open to the public. However, the Royal Collection Trust does run guided tours, from time to time, its central location between The Mall and Pall Mall and its corner site, make it possible to view the exterior of the palace and its Tudor architecture from the street.