![]() One depicts Nelson’s moment of triumph at the Battle of Trafalgar (at the exact same moment he got shot), whilst the other shows the Duke of Wellington’s meeting with Marshal Blucher at the Battle of Waterloo. This is one of the longest rooms in the Palace, decorated in red and gold, Palace and with two very large frescoes on each wall showing great British military victories. The Royal Gallery is a magnificent room between the Lord’s Chamber and the Robing Room. Apart from Stephen’s Hall, Westminster Hall is the only place where you are allowed to take photos. I had chills run down my spine as I hovered above the spot where Nelson Mandela stood to address both Houses of Parliament in 1996. Remember to check out the plaques on the floor that mark famous historic events, such as the trial of Thomas More and Charles I. It’s one of the largest undivided medieval spaces in the world, topped with a hammer-beam roof, and is still the back-drop for important ceremonial events and used for important visitors like Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama. Then it was used for lavish coronation banquets for new monarchs. It was first built as a courtroom where famous names like Guy Fawkes and William Wallace were tried. The Hall has played many different roles over the course of history. It was a place for feasts, entertainment and great state occasions. Westminster Hall was completed in 1099 and was designed to impress. A lucky change of wind direction saved the Hall, but the original Houses of Parliament had to be rebuilt in their current Victorian neo-Gothic style. Westminster Hall and the Jewel Tower are the only parts of the palace which survived a huge fire in 1834. The cavernous Westminster Hall – dating back to 1097 – is the oldest part and one of the few original parts of the Palace of Westminster. If you are looking for other free things to do in your spare time, check out this very comprehensive list of London museums. This is a really fun thing to do on a free weekend and we would highly recommend it. Gary and I went on a self-guided audio tour one Saturday afternoon, and it was brilliant. To be honest, I had no idea that you could just buy a ticket for a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. If you do, you’ll get a nice little map right on your ticket that will tell you which entrance to go to. Once you buy tickets (£18.50 for adults), you have the option of printing them out. Tickets sell out fast and there are a few exceptions to the opening times, so it’s probably best to check the schedule and purchase your tickets in advance. You can buy your tickets online or get them the same day from the ticket office at the front of Portcullis House. MPs generally don’t work on weekends and so the Houses of Parliament are open to the public every Saturday. Tourists can simply buy a ticket for an audio or guided tour.I assume that there’s a long waiting list for those though. If you’re a UK resident you can contact your local MP or a member of the House of Lords and ask them to give you a tour, free of charge, also known as a Member’s Tour.Granted, this is a bit too much hassle, for most people. You can stand as an MP and get 50,000 people to vote for you at the next general election.There are in fact three ways to take a sneak-peak inside the Houses of Parliament. You can probably imagine how excited I thus was to be invited to try out the new self-guided audio tour and why I took up the offer without a moment’s hesitation. Somehow I was convinced that it would bring me a little closer to my grandad, who sadly passed away three years ago. Seeing the interior of the Houses of Parliament for myself has therefore unsurprisingly long been on my to-do list. He, therefore, spent a good chunk of his life in the Houses of Parliament and my stepdad has visited the building on many occasions. My grandad, Bruce Millan, was a Scottish Labour politician, European Commissionaire and Secretary of State of Scotland. Now I am going to let you in on a secret. The complex rituals of the British political system are enough to confuse anyone, never mind someone who hasn’t grown up in this country. Most people will recognise its striking façade, but far less know what actually happens inside. The Palace of Westminster – home to the Houses of Parliament – has been a royal palace for 1000 years, home to the Parliament for nearly 500 years, is one of London’s best-known buildings, and forms the backdrop to so many images of the capital.
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