The Buckingham Palace（白金漢宫） is a famous place in the UK. It is the London home and office of Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ（伊丽莎白二世）. She and the Royal Family（皇室） live there.

The palace is more than 300 years old. It became a royal（皇家的） home in 1837. It now has 775 rooms. There are 78 bathrooms！

Many people work here to help the Queen and her family. Some cook food. Some do the cleaning. Some are even clockmakers（钟表制作或修理人）. There are more than 350 clocks and watches in the palace.

A big garden is in the back（后面） of the palace. The Queen holds（举办） garden parties here. There is a tennis court（网球场）， a lake and even a helicopter pad（直升机停机坪） in the garden.

Buckingham Palace has a famous balcony（阳台）. It faces（面对） the palace’s gates. The Royal Family often meets people there on special days.

When you visit the palace， the “changing of the guard（护卫队）” is a must-see（必看）. The guards wear red coats and black hats. Music plays when they change places. Sometimes they play military marches（军队进行曲） or pop music（流行乐）. If it is a royal birthday，they play Happy Birthday（《生日快乐歌》）.

A flag always flies at the palace. When the Queen is at home， the Royal Standard（英国皇家王旗） flies. When the Queen is not at home， the Union Flag（英国国旗） flies.

The Queen has a collection（收集） of many paintings（绘画作品） in the palace. Visitors（游客） can see them too.