Video: Queen and Duke of Edinburgh take in view from The Shard The Queen asked for a bird's eye view of Buckingham Palace as she looked across London's skyline from the top of The Shard today. The Queen went up western Europe's tallest building, standing at 1,016ft high, with the Duke of Edinburgh as the royal couple visited the London borough of Southwark today. The royal couple peered through an interactive telescope on the landmark's 69th floor, before braving the cold weather on the 800ft high open-air viewing gallery of the building at London Bridge. Dressed in a matching purple coat and hat, the Queen remarked that St Paul's Cathedral looked "quite small" as she walked around the 360 degree gallery, known as The View. "It's interesting, the different views and how people can see their houses," she said.