The Wondrous Palace of Whitehall

Today Whitehall is a street in central London known for the home of the United Kingdom Prime Minister at number 10 Downing Street and countless government buildings and offices.  Indeed it can even be quite easy to walk up and down this street and not really know what you’re walking by, never mind what was here in centuries past.  

By walking from The Houses of Parliament, up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square you are not just walking through parliamentary democracy but royal history as well.  The area has royal links going back to at least the 1000s when King Cnut had a residence here.  From the 1200s the English Roman Catholic church had a residence on what was York Place. 

Over the centuries Whitehall has seen it all.  Church residences were glorified with galleries, orchards and wine cellars.  And then there was Henry VIII (the one with the six wives).  Even a King with the reputation he had couldn’t get what he wanted out of Rome.  So he pretty much nationalised the English church so he could split from his first wife and marry Anne Boleyn.  In 1530 Henry VIII has Whitehall Palace rebuilt and extended and his children Mary I, Edward VI and Elizabeth I all spent time here. 

But Whitehall Palace covers centuries to include different lineages of the royal family and in 1603 - Enter the Stuarts and King James I and later his son Charles I.  Inside the surviving Whitehall is artwork by Peter Paul Rubens, taking your breath away by almost taking paintings from Italy and putting it in 17th century England.  But Charles I doesn’t have a happy reign and ultimately you can see the catastrophic spot of his execution in 1649 on this experience by City Unscripted.  

Charles I isn’t the only one who suffers on this amazing street in the 17th century and the soap opera of the last 168 years almost physically collapses in its entirety in 1698 when the palace is nearly completely wiped out by fire.  Part of it is still left and known as Banqueting House and when not under restoration this listed building can be seen by the public.

Again, like so many things it is overlooked by Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and Windsor Castle.  When open to the public again in 2025 the Banqueting House is certainly worth visiting.  But whether open or closed a City Unscripted guide will be able to bring Whitehall and so many other parts of this tour, city and world to life for you.