About the Area for SilverDoor Serviced Apartments in London - St James

London is the capital of England and of the United Kingdom. On 6th February 1952, Elizabeth Windsor became Queen Elizabeth II upon the death of her father King George VI and Buckingham Palace in Westminster remains her principal home. London is also home to approximately 7.5 million people and until the early 20’s was the most populous city in the world.

London was established as a civilian town by the Romans about seven years after the invasion of AD43, however there is evidence of prehistoric settlement in London dating from at least a thousand years before that. The name Londinium is thought to be pre-Celtic in origin and although there has been no academic consensus, it probably means "the flowing river".

During London’s 2,000 years of recorded history, it has experienced plague, devastating fire, civil war and two world wars; yet, it has still grown to become one of the most important business, financial and cultural capitals in the world.

The city is a major tourist destination, with four world heritage sites and numerous iconic landmarks such as the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and the London Eye amongst its many attractions, along with famous institutions such as the British Museum and the National Gallery.

London is made up of 32 boroughs, plus the City of London borough, and about 22 per cent of London's population were born outside of the UK, which is what makes it such an ethnically-mixed and culturally-diverse city.

Travel around London on public transport is easy and frequent. The London Underground (more commonly known as “The Tube”) serves 275 stations and there are hundreds of bus routes serving the city and suburban areas. London has five main train stations:-Waterloo, Victoria, St. Pancras, Paddington and Euston, with trains running to all of Britain’s major cities. Waterloo station is also the terminus for the Eurostar train to Paris.

With a large port and five international airports, London is a major international transport hub. Its main airport at Heathrow carries more international passengers than any other airport in the world.

St. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated on The Mall in London, just north of St. James's Park. It is a delightful part of London located adjacent to Westminster, the heart of London’s West End and the fashionable areas of Chelsea and Kensington. The first three King Georges used St. James's Palace as their principal London residence even though it was far from grand for the city palace of a major European monarchy.

St. James's Palace is still a working palace, and the Royal Court is still formally based there – foreign ambassadors are still accredited to the Court of St. James's - even though they are received by the monarch at Buckingham Palace. It is also the London residence of the Princess Royal and Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy. The Palace forms part of a sprawling complex of buildings housing Court offices and officials' apartments. The complex includes York House, the former home of the Prince of Wales and his sons, the Princes William and Harry, Lancaster House, which is used by HM Government for official receptions, as well as the nearby Clarence House, the home of the late Queen Mother and now the residence of the Prince of Wales.