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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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St James's Palace
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(London SW1)Redbrick Tudor palace lying between St James's Street and St James's Park. It was built by *Henry VIII on the site of a convent which he had closed in 1532 (it had earlier been a leper hospital dedicated to St James the Less). The main unaltered part of his palace is the gatehouse at the bottom of St James's Street. After the destruction of *Whitehall Palace by fire in 1698, St James's became the official residence of the sovereign. It remains so today, with foreign diplomats accredited to the *Court of St James's, even though the actual royal residence in London has been *Buckingham Palace since Victoria's accession in 1837.
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