- DURATION 1 hr 15 mins
Event Description
The fascinating story of the home of British royalty since 1837. 300 years ago the palace started off as a townhouse for a Duke, nearly became a museum but went on to be the London residence of all of Britain’s sovereigns since an 18 year old Queen Victoria moved in 1837.
Using pictures, old paintings and Google earth, we’ll look at how the building has grown over the years and take 360 degree views of its most important rooms (there’s not enough time for all 775 of them!).
We’ll find out about all about the preparations needed for a royal banquet, visit the drawing room with a secret door, learn of rumours of a secret tunnel and virtually visit the gallery that has largest collection of Canalettos in the world.
Then we’ll take a virtual stroll down the Mall, and around St James’s Park to hear stories about Henry VIII’s jousting ground, of pelicans and ducks, how the Stuarts made it in to a pleasure park and curious facts like how the British taught the French to bottle champagne (and what has that got to do with Duck Island?), the pagoda that burnt down and who exactly was the grand old duke of York (in fact he wasn’t all that grand at all).
- Duration: 1 hr 15 mins
- Online Zoom event: Join from your computer, phone or tablet (no replay available)
Meet the Host, Loona
Loona Hazarika is a history geek who has been giving guided tours of his birthplace London for over 15 years. Trained by the British Museum (where he was an official tour guide) he co-founded London City Steps, a social enterprise that helps to train and give confidence to underprivileged youth via a love of local history.
He spent a year volunteering at the Genocide Memorial Centre in Rwanda where he recorded and set up their first audio guides system and has advised and appeared on TV history shows such as BBC TV’s The ‘Hairy Builder’, ‘the Repair Shop’ and SKY Atlantic’s ‘Urban Secrets’
He has a Master’s Degree in economics from the University of Cambridge.
Preparing for the Event
For the best experience, you will need to have Zoom downloaded onto your computer. Please ensure you're connected to broadband/wifi rather than using your mobile phone connection (3G/4G).
We also recommend that pets are either calmly sitting on your lap or in another room, and any refreshments you may require are within your reach!
More Information
What if I can’t make the event?
If a recording’s available for the event, you can still register for it and we will send you an email with a link to a recording shortly after it ends.
Will my camera be on and will I be visible to the other people?
Your camera and microphone does not need to be on for you to enjoy the event. The choice about whether to do this is completely yours.
How do I watch the live event?
Rest Less events are hosted on Zoom, a computer application that allows you to attend online events just by clicking a link. For detailed instructions, please go to our "FAQ" page, which you can find a link to in the nav bar at the top of the page.
How do I sign-up for and access the recording? (Recorded events only)
Book the event as normal (as if you are attending live). After the event ends you will automatically receive a post-event email with a link to the recording, as long as the event was recorded. You do not need to do anything else and there is no separate booking process for recordings only. Please note it can take up to 24 hours for Zoom to process recordings.