Horse Guards building in London

When in Whitehall Street you are sure to pay attention to a building looking like a palace. You can see two horsemen in the full-dress uniform of cuirassiers at the entrance to the building, which is the Horse Guards.

When Whitehall Palace was the royal residence, there was also the Horse Guards building, but during the fire in the palace it burned down too. The today palladian building was built in 1753 by the architect William Kent.

A large area for horse parades of guardsmen is behind the palace complex. It was built in the time of Henry VIII, and even knight tournaments were held here. Now a beautiful changing of the horse guard ceremony is held at 10 o`clock every morning.

Formerly, Duke of Wellington lived in the building of the Horse Guards, but now it is just the official entrance to St. James`s Park. From there you can go to St. James`s Palace and then to Buckingham Palace.