the official home of the British royal family in London. The name of the Palace is sometimes used to mean the officials who are in charge of organizing the Queen's public life. London residence of the British sovereign. It takes its name from the house built there early in the 18th century for the dukes of Buckingham. Victoria was the first sovereign to live there. John Nash began the reconstruction of Buckingham House as a Neoclassical palace in 1821, but was not allowed to finish. His garden front remains virtually unchanged, but the Mall front was redesigned in 1913 by Sir Aston Webb (1849-1930) as a background for the Queen Victoria Memorial statue
v. orig. George Villiers born Aug. 28, 1592, Brooksby, Leicestershire, Eng. died Aug. 23, 1628, Portsmouth, Hampshire English courtier and politician. Charming and handsome, he quickly became a royal favourite of James I and the future Charles I. He became lord high admiral in 1619 and was created a duke in 1623, but his arrogance and abuse of power made him highly unpopular. His erratic foreign policy led to a series of disasters, including failed military expeditions to Spain and France. A bill to impeach him was introduced in Parliament in 1626, prompting Charles to dissolve Parliament. When Buckingham was assassinated by a naval lieutenant, Londoners rejoiced
v. orig. George Villiers born Jan. 30, 1628, London, Eng. died April 16, 1687, Kirkby Moorside, Yorkshire English politician. Born eight months before the assassination of his father, the 1st duke of Buckingham, he was brought up with the family of Charles I. He fought for Charles II in the English Civil Wars, and after the Restoration in 1660 Buckingham became a leading member of the king's inner circle of ministers, known as the Cabal. Parliament had him dismissed from his posts for alleged Catholic sympathies in 1674