St James's Palace survive, but most were remodelled in the 19th century. The palace was commissioned by Henry VIII, on the site of a former leper hospital dedicated to Saint James the Less. The new palace, secondary in the king's interest to Henry's Whitehall Palace, was constructed between 1531 and 1536 as a smaller residence to escape formal court life. Much smaller than the nearby Whitehall, St James's was arranged around a number of courtyards, including the Colour Court, the Ambassador's Court and the Friary Court. The most recognisable feature is the north gatehouse; constructed with four storeys, the gatehouse has two crenellated
Buckingham Palace Stakes Buckingham Palace Stakes The Buckingham Palace Stakes was a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three and over. It was run at Ascot over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and was scheduled to take place each year in June on the fourth day of the Royal Ascot meeting. The Buckingham Palace Stakes was established in 2002, when the Royal Ascot meeting was extended to a fifth day to mark the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II and was named after Buckingham Palace, the London residence of the British monarch. It was last run in