Tudor and Stuart Whitehall

I have a bit of a break until my last term paper is due so I took another guided walk about Tudor and Stuart Whitehall. Whitehall was the former palace that is mostly associated with the Tudor and Stuart dynasties. The palace burnt down in the late 1600s, but the whole area around it was referred to as "Whitehall." (It still is called Whitehall) There is not much left anymore of what was there during the Tudors and the Stuarts. Today it is all government offices, mainly the different ministries. Anyways, it was a nice day, though I can tell summer is starting as there were lots of dumb tourists around, blocking the sidewalks!!

Bust of Charles I on the Banqueting House, one of the only bits left of Whitehall Palace. The bust is placed near to the spot where Charles got his head chopped off by Oliver Cromwell

The window on the Banqueting House that Charles walked though to get on the scaffold to get his head chopped off

The stairs that led to Queen Mary's terrace (long since gone) The terrace was designed by Christopher Wren for Queen Mary II (William and Mary)

The gatehouse at St. James' Palace dating from Tudor times

The window of the Chapel Royal of St. James Palace, the ceiling inside was painted by Holbein, though it isn't open to the public

Flowers in St. James Park

More flowers in the park

Setting up the grandstands at Horse Guards for the Trooping of the Color in June- the official celebration of the Queen's birthday.