If a palace be a royal residence, as the dictionary defines it, then nearly all the famous castles of England would come under that title, for the Norman and Plantagenet Kings were constantly moving from one stronghold to another during the unsettled period of the Middle Ages. Until the fifteenth century, both the English and Scottish Kings resided in impregnable castles or fortified houses, but their sojourn was never long in one place. After the Wars of the Roses had crushed the power of the g

WESTMINSTER PALACE Scarcely anything remains to-day to remind us of the vast size and the magnificence of the Palace of Westminster, the royal residence of the English Kings from the time of Edward the Confessor until the reign of Henry VIII. For five centuries the monarchs of England kept their Court on the island of Thorney, within the sound of the bells of the great minster raised by the piety of the saintly Edward. Though the early Kings were seldom long in one place, they regarded Westminst

WINDSOR CASTLE Standing upon a steep chalk cliff that rises abruptly from the River Thames, Windsor Castle towers above the low-lying river meadows, and, looking beyond the town that clusters round it, gazes proudly over twelve adjacent counties. For more than eight centuries a castle has stood upon this cliff-top, the defensive qualities of such a perfect natural stronghold having appealed to all the royal rulers of England. In Saxon times the mound was defended by some kind of wooden palisade,

THE TOWER OF LONDON There are no myths or legends connected with the building of London's great fortress, the clear light of history beats upon the erection of its walls. It was built by William the Conquerer, not as a protection for the city, but as a proof of his dominating power over the subdued but possibly troublesome citizens. Part of the Roman wall which encircled the city was removed, and the tower rose into being upon the easternmost corner of Saxon London, right on the shore of the Riv

KENNINGTON PALACE No royal house has more completely vanished from sight, and even from memory, than the royal palace of Kennington. Few know that such a palace ever existed, and certainly those who dwell upon its site would require to be possessed of keen imaginations, to realize that once all the pageantry of a medieval Court took place, where to-day monotonous streets crowd upon one another. Yet Parliaments assembled and all the ceremonies of State were performed on a spot not far from where

ELTHAM PALACE To realize that Eltham was one of the most stately of royal residences one has only to stand within the magnificent hall erected by Edward IV. Though neglected for many years and allowed to fall into decay, it is still a marvellous relic of medieval splendour, at the time when Perpendicular architecture was beautifying the land. The fine oak roof, with its hammer beams and carved pendants, is almost as perfect as when it was first put up, but unfortunately the beautiful tracery of

GREENWICH PALACE Greenwich Palace. Greenwich was the sea palace of the English monarchs. It stood upon the edge of the broad and tidal River Thames, which was salt to the taste at the time when the Tudor monarchs gazed over its sparkling waters. From their palace windows Henry VIII. and his illustrious daughter Elizabeth watched the busy vessels passing down to the sea, laden with wool and other merchandise, to return filled with silks, and spices, and precious metals; and looked with proud sati

WHITEHALL PALACE Of all the many palaces of the English monarchs, none is more associated in men's minds with the splendour and pageantry of Court life than the palace of Whitehall. In comparison with other palaces, such as Windsor, its life-story was very brief, just over a century and a half, but it was spent in the hey-day of royalty, when the Kings were freed from the power of the great barons, and were not yet controlled by the constitution. It is full of memories of the masterful Tudors, a

HAMPTON COURT PALACE In the high tide of its popularity, Hampton Court Palace was considered the finest and most commodious palace in England, an opinion which was corroborated by the foreign ambassadors of the time, who spoke of it in terms of the highest praise. One distinguished foreign visitor, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, recorded in his diary: "This is the most splendid and most magnificent royal palace of any that may be found in England, or, indeed, in any other kingdom." And though

ST. JAMES'S PALACE The old red-brick palace which stands at the foot of St. James's Street, looking up towards the busy throng of Piccadilly, still gives the diplomatic title to the Court of Great Britain, though it has long been neglected by royalty. It stands serene amid the traffic of Pall Mall, having gained with the passing of ages some of that dignity with which it was said to be lacking in the eighteenth century, when Sir John Fielding wrote "it reflects no honour on the kingdom, and is t

KENSINGTON PALACE When William III., "a great man in a little crazy body" as Leigh Hunt calls him, found that he could not stand the smoky atmosphere of Whitehall, he looked about for a place sufficiently near London for him to be near his Ministers, and yet should be rural enough to have clear fresh air. He found this spot in the village of Kensington, where he bought a suburban mansion, formerly the residence of the Earls of Nottingham. Here he at once began building, and laying out gardens in

KEW PALACE Kew first became a royal residence in the reign of George II., when it was leased from its private owners and used as a country seat by Frederick, Prince of Wales. Owing to his undutiful behaviour to his father, the Prince was banished from Court, when he retired to Kew, forming a sort of opposition Court there. But the actual red-brick Jacobean house, now known as Kew Palace, was then only called the Dutch House, after its original founder, Sir Hugh Portman, who was a Dutch merchant

BUCKINGHAM PALACE Buckingham Palace, the London residence of the monarch, is the most familiar of all the royal palaces to the general British public, in so far as everyone, sooner or later, migrates to London. Unfortunately the spectator sees only a somewhat depressing and stereotyped building, lacking the majestic proportions of Windsor and the stately beauty of Hampton Court, representing, indeed, the very lowest ebb of English architecture. Yet, in spite of its uninspiring exterior, it is fu

VANISHED PALACES Besides the palaces whose stories have been related, there were at one time many other royal residences scattered over England. These have either entirely vanished, even their sites being problematical, or mere fragments of them alone remain. While England remained in an unsettled condition, with constant internal wars, the Kings were always moving about taking their Court with them, staying in their various castles or fortified houses. We find that Henry II., the first of the P

EDINBURGH CASTLE EDINBURGH CASTLE Stands upon a great rock rising abruptly from low-lying ground. Its history stretches back to the dim time of legends. Edinburgh Castle has a history that stretches far back till it is lost in the misty realm of legend. The great rock upon which it is built could not fail to have appealed to all the successive rulers of the land as of great strategic importance. It rises abruptly from the low-lying land, and dominates the country for many miles around, from the

DUNFERMLINE CASTLE For peaceful beauty of situation the royal palace of Dunfermline in Fife excelled all others in Scotland, for though the castles of Edinburgh and Stirling were majestic, they were too associated with the troubles of turbulent nobles to have been pleasant residences for the monarchs. The palace was built high above a wooded glen, its walls apparently rising out of the cliff-like sides of the winding stream. Only a fragment now remains, but it is sufficient, with its mullioned w

STIRLING CASTLE Through the whole period of Scottish history, Stirling Castle held a position of vast importance. In early days it stood as a stronghold against the barbarous Highlanders of the North, acting as the frontier post of civilization. For fifty years during the War of Independence, the castle was alternately held by the English or the Scotch, whichever party was at the time dominant in the country. Crowning the summit of a sudden outburst of volcanic rock, the castle was practically i

HOLYROOD PALACE To those who see it for the first time, Holyrood Palace is distinctly disappointing. All the glamour of its romantic history seems out of place in connection with the somewhat prosaic looking mansion, which bears little outward sign of its eventful life. Nothing is left of the medieval abbey which once stood upon the site, save a ruined portion of the abbey church. And of the Stuart palace, so associated with the fascinations of Scotland's most famous Queen, only a small part is

LINLITHGOW PALACE "Of all the palaces so fair Built for the royal dwelling, In Scotland, far beyond compare, Linlithgow is excelling." The Fountain in the Quadrangle of Linlithgow Palace. So wrote Sir Walter Scott, an opinion which can be endorsed to-day, enough of the palace remaining, ruined though it is, to show what a stately and dignified structure it was in its days of greatness. The palace, standing on some rising ground jutting into a beautiful lake, is square in construction, having tow

FALKLAND PALACE Unless equipped with a good knowledge of Scottish history, the average tourist wandering through Fife will come upon Falkland Palace with surprise. Its situation is so remote from any centre of importance, it stands upon no great river affording an outlet to the sea, and never being a stronghold of any sort it remains at the base instead of the top of the hills among which it is built. Though elevated to the proud position of a royal burgh in 1458, Falkland can to-day be scarcely