Palace of Westminster | Tourope

The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for the two Houses of Parliament of the United Kingdom: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The palace lie on the north bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster, close to other government buildings in Whitehall.

The Crown viewers will immediately recall the scene of Churchill’s speech to the parliament in celebration of his 80th birthday in season 1, episode 9. The most remarkable moment in this episode was Churchill’s discontented look when he sees his badly painted portrait. The painting was presented to Churchill by both Houses of Parliament at a public ceremony in Westminster Hall on 30 November 1954.

The palace originally served as a royal residence, but no monarch has lived in it since the 16th century. Most of the present Houses of Parliament structure dates from the 19th century when the Palace was rebuilt after it was almost entirely destroyed by a fire in 1834. The architects responsible for rebuilding the Palace were Sir Charles Barry and Augustus Welby Pugin, and the building is an example of the Gothic revival.