Court of St James's meetings or the annual Diplomatic Reception attended by 1,500 guests, are held wherever the monarch is in residence—usually Buckingham Palace. The court is named after St James's Palace, hence the "s" at the end of the name. This is because St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace and has remained the official residence of the British Monarchy despite the nearby Buckingham Palace becoming the main London residence of all the British sovereigns since the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. When the court's name is spoken, it is sometimes incorrectly identified as the "Court of St James", without
Buckingham Palace entertained at garden parties, receptions, audiences, and banquets. Three garden parties are held in the summer, usually in July. The forecourt of Buckingham Palace is used for Changing of the Guard, a major ceremony and tourist attraction (daily from April to July; every other day in other months). The palace, like Windsor Castle, is owned by the reigning monarch in right of the Crown. It is not the monarch's personal property, unlike Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle. Many of the contents from Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace, and St James's Palace are part of the Royal Collection, held in