The first stop of our literary London tour is Buckingham Palace. Buckingham Palace, situated within the borough of Westminster, opened in 1705. The palace was bought in 1762 by King George III for his wife, Queen Charlotte ("Buckingham Palace"). Since then, the palace has been utilized for royalty, giving it a highly prestigious, regal, traditional ambience that remains just as prominent to this day.
More than fifty thousand people visit the palace annually ("Royal Residences: Buckingham Palace"). Tourists can easily locate the King’s Guard - an ornate infantry that constantly guards the palace. Moreover, the Queen’s Gallery, which is situated adjacent to the palace, hosts a broad array of exhibits from the Royal Collection ("Queen's Gallery"). On top of
its many tourist attractions and sights, Buckingham Palace is the official residence for the sovereign authorities of the United Kingdom. Today, the palace is speculated to be the new place of residence for King Charles III and his Queen Consort. For the UK citizens themselves, the palace serves as a symbol of national significance and pride.
The interior of Buckingham Palace contains 775 rooms, including a post office, cinema, doctor’s office, and jeweler’s store, yet just as extraordinary is the palace’s exterior, displaying centuries of grandeur ("A Look Inside..."). In Monica Ali’s Brick Lane, the main characters - Nazneen and Chanu - take their children on a trip to “see the sights” of London (Ali 14); naturally, the family ventures directly to Buckingham Palace. Ali writes, “The avenue that swept down to Buckingham palace was as wide as forty bullock carts and it was the grandest of roads” (14). The narrator’s description of the palace entrance as hosting the “grandest of roads” highlights the magnificence and splendor of the palace, yet its English architecture only serves as a reminder of the family’s culture.
The narrator offers insight suggesting that Nazneen is not at all impressed by the palace: “If she were the queen she would tear it down and build a new house, not this flat-rooted block but something elegant and spirited, with minarets and spires, domes and mosaics, a beautiful garden instead of this bare forecourt. Something like the Taj Mahal” (14). Nazneen’s views drastically differ from the general public about the state of the palace, even considering it a “flat-rooted block. . . [a] bare forecourt.” These phrases portray strongly negative connotations, revealing the clashing of the southeastern Asian culture with the British culture at the turn of the twenty-first century.
Despite its rich, complex history, Nazneen struggles to appreciate the view of Buckingham Palace, representing the minority in a shocking fashion through her explicit desire for the palace to more closely resemble architecture from her own culture. With such a diverse population residing in London today, these views are likely to still be prominent.
All in all, regardless of opinions about the palace, the traditional and national significance surrounding Buckingham Palace indubitably make it stand out as a focal point of London and even the entire United Kingdom itself!
Works Cited
Ali, Monica. Brick Lane. 2003.
“Buckingham Palace.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 6 Feb. 2024, www.britannica.com/topic/Buckingham-Palace.
Edwards, Rachel. “Buckingham Palace Interiors: The Rooms to See.” Country Living, www.countryliving.com/uk/homes-interiors/interiors/a39391942/interior-d….
“File: London - 2000 - May.” Wikimedia.
Reynolds, Anna. “Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace.” CODART, 3 Aug. 2021, www.codart.nl/guide/museums/queen-s-gallery-buckingham-palace/.
“Royal Residences: Buckingham Palace.” The Royal Family, www.royal.uk/royalresidencesbuckinghampalace#:~:text=Buckingham%20Palac….