The Palace of Holyrood House
The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official residence of the Monarchy in Scotland. Founded as a monastery in 1128 at the end of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, the Palace of Holyroodhouse has a close association with the History of Scotland. Today, the Palace is a close focus for national celebrations and events in Scotland, most notably The Queen’s ‘Holyrood Week’, which usually runs from the end of June to the beginning of July every year. The Holyrood Week often involves an investiture and a garden party where around 8,000 people, from all walks of Scottish life, are invited.
St James’s Palace
St. James’s Palace, within spitting distance from Buckingham Palace, has been the setting for some of the most important events in Royal history, having been a residence of Kings and Queens of England for over 300 years until the reign of Queen Victoria. St James’s Palace today hosts up to 100 receptions each year for charities associated with members of the Royal Family.
It is the London residence of the Queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, and her grandchildren Princess Beatrice and Princess Alexandra.
Windsor Castle
Whilst the following places are not technically palaces, no list of prominent royal residences would be complete without Windsor, Balmoral, and Sandringham, which will all be included below.
A Royal home and fortress for over 900 years, Windsor Castle, the largest occupied castle in the world, remains a working palace today. The Queen uses the Castle both as a private home, where she usually spends the weekend, and as an official Royal residence at which she undertakes certain formal duties.
Normally, the Queen spends the Christmas break at Sandringham, but in 2021 decided to spend the holiday at Windsor Castle accompanied by Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall amid the rise in COVID-19 cases in the U.K.
