The balcony of Buckingham Palace is one of the most famous in the world. The first recorded Royal balcony appearance took place in 1851, when Queen Victoria stepped onto it during celebrations for the opening of the Great Exhibition. It was King George VI who introduced the custom of the RAF fly-past at the end of Trooping the Colour, when the Royal Family appear on the balcony.
The east side of the Palace (today's front wing) was the last to be built. Queen Victoria had it added in the 1840s to provide extra space for her growing family. The new wing meant that the monument known as Marble Arch, originally at the entrance to Buckingham Palace, had to be moved to its present site near Speaker's Corner in 1851.
Buckingham Palace provided an unlikely operating theatre for King Edward VII in 1902. Suffering from peritonitis and close to death, he was operated on in a room overlooking the garden. The surgery proved a success, and King Edward VII was crowned at Westminster Abbey in August that year.
There are 1,514 doors and 760 windows in Buckingham Palace. All windows are cleaned every six weeks to keep them clean.
Electricity was first installed in the Ball Room of Buckingham Palace in 1883, and between 1883 and 1887 electricity was extended throughout the Palace. Today there are over 40,000 light bulbs in the Palace.
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