A full-colour souvenir book on the residence of the British monarch. Written in co-operation with the Royal Collection, it describes how the Palace developed from its early days as the home of the Duke of Buckingham, to the garden residence of the Hanoverian kings, to its present position as the official home of the Queen and her family. The book describes in detail how the treasures in the palace were collected and acquired by the kings and queens over the century and gives background on the craftsmen and artists whose works and paintings adorn the palace. It tells the story of the architects and builders who have worked on the palace to make it what we see now, and the attempts by the monarchs to control the costs, and of the development of the gardens by a series of queens.