where did the king live before buckingham palace
St James's Palace George III found St James's increasingly unsuitable. The Tudor palace was regarded as uncomfortable and too cramped for his ever-growing family. In 1762 George purchased Buckingham House – the predecessor to Buckingham Palace – for his queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz [9] The royal family began to spend the majority of their time at Buckingham House, with St James's being used for only the most formal of occasions; thrice-weekly levées and public audiences were still held there. In the late 18th century, George III refurbished the state apartments but neglected the living quarters.[10] Queen Victoria formalised the move in 1837, ending St James's status as the primary residence of the monarch. It was nevertheless where Victoria married her husband, Prince Albert, in 1840, and where, eighteen years later, Victoria and Albert's eldest child, Princess Victoria, married her husband, Prince Frederick of Prussia.[1]
George VI In September 1939, Britain and the self-governing Dominions other than Ireland declared war on Nazi Germany.[71] George VI and his wife resolved to stay in London, despite German bombing raids. They officially stayed in Buckingham Palace throughout the war, although they usually spent nights at Windsor Castle.[72] The first night of the Blitz on London, on 7 September 1940, killed about one thousand civilians, mostly in the East End.[73] On 13 September, the King and Queen narrowly avoided death when two German bombs exploded in a courtyard at Buckingham Palace while they were there.[74] In defiance, the Queen famously declared: "I am glad we have been bombed. It makes me feel we can look the East End in the face."[75] The royal family were portrayed as sharing the same dangers and deprivations as the rest of the country. They were subject to rationing restrictions, and U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt remarked on the rationed food served and the limited bathwater that was permitted during a stay at the unheated and boarded-up Palace.[76] In August 1942, the King's brother, Prince George, Duke of Kent, was killed on active service.[77]