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 1847, the couple had found the palace too small for court life and their growing family, and consequently the new wing, designed by Edward Blore, was built by Thomas Cubitt, enclosing the central quadrangle. The large East Front, facing The Mall, is today the "public face" of Buckingham Palace, and contains the balcony from which the royal family acknowledge the crowds on momentous occasions and after the annual Trooping the Colour. The ballroom wing and a further suite of state rooms were also built in this period, designed by Nash's student Sir James Pennethorne. Before Prince Albert's death, the palace