Waterloo Vase

Buckingham Palace Garden is a large private park attached to the London residence of the monarch. It is situated to the rear (west) of Buckingham Palace, occupying a 17 hectares (42 acres) site in the City of Westminster and forms the largest private garden in the capital. It is bounded by Constitution Hill to the north, Hyde Park Corner to the west, Grosvenor Place to the south-west, and the Royal Mews, Queen's Gallery, and Buckingham Palace itself to the south and east. The royal connection to the site of the garden dates from 1609 when James I purchased four acres of land "near to his palace of Westminster for the planting of mulberry trees". The garden covers much of the area of the former Goring Great Garden, named after Lord Goring, occupant of one of the earliest grand houses on the site. In 1664 Goring's mansion, and the lease on the grounds, was bought by Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington. In 1674 the house was destroyed by fire and Arlington built a replacement, named Arlington House, on the site. This house was sold by Arlington's daughter to John Sheffield, Earl of Mulgrave. Created Duke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1703, Buckingham commissioned a new mansion for the site, named Buckingham House. His architect was William Talman and his builder William Winde. Similar attention was paid to the landscape, where Buckingham engaged Henry Wise to lay out an elaborate garden in the French style, with parterres and a central canal. In the late 18th century, Buckingham House was acquired by George III whose heir, George IV used John Nash to remodel the house which was renamed Buckingham Palace. Nash engaged William Townsend Aiton to implement designs for a new garden. Aiton's work forms the basis of the garden that exists today. Buckingham Palace Garden is the setting for the Queen's annual garden parties. In June 2002 she invited the public into the garden for entertainment for the first time during her reign. As part of her Golden Jubilee Weekend thousands of Britons were invited to apply for tickets to Party at the Palace where the guitarist Brian May of the band Queen performed his God Save the Queen guitar solo on top of Buckingham Palace. This concert was preceded the previous evening by a Prom at the Palace. During the Queen's 80th birthday celebrations in 2006 the garden was the scene of Children's Party at the Palace. The garden is Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. The planting is varied and exotic, with a mulberry tree dating back to the time of James I. Notable features include a large 19th-century lake which was once graced by a flock of flamingoes, and the Waterloo Vase. There is also a summerhouse attributed to William Kent, a helicopter landing pad on the great lawn below the West Terrace, and a tennis court. Unlike the nearby Royal Parks of London, Buckingham Palace Garden is not usually open to the public. However, when the palace is open during August and September, visitors have access to part of the garden, which forms the exit, via a gift shop in a marquee, at the end of the tour.

The Memorial Gates are a war memorial located at the Hyde Park Corner end of Constitution Hill in London. Also known as the Commonwealth Memorial Gates, they commemorate the armed forces of the British Empire from five regions of the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka), as well as Africa and the Caribbean, who served for Britain in the First and Second World Wars. The memorial was inaugurated in 2002 by Queen Elizabeth II.

Cleveland Clinic London is a 184-bed private hospital owned by the US operator Cleveland Clinic, opening in March 2022, and the second-largest of 19 private hospitals in the capital, after the Wellington Hospital in St John's Wood. It has partnered with the King Edward VII's Hospital.Cleveland Clinic London is at 33 Grosvenor Place, and overlooks the gardens of Buckingham Palace.

The Royal Air Force Bomber Command Memorial is a memorial in The Green Park, London, commemorating the crews of RAF Bomber Command who embarked on missions during the Second World War. The memorial, on the south side of Piccadilly, facing Hyde Park Corner, was built to mark the sacrifice of 55,573 aircrew from Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Czechoslovakia, Poland and other allied countries, as well as civilians of all nations killed during raids.Queen Elizabeth II unveiled the memorial on 28 June 2012, the year of her Diamond Jubilee.

Grosvenor Place is a street in Belgravia, London, running from Hyde Park Corner down the west side of Buckingham Palace gardens, and joining lower Grosvenor Place where there are some cafes and restaurants. It joins Grosvenor Gardens to the south, which links it to Victoria railway station. At No. 17 is the Embassy of the Republic of Ireland. Cleveland Clinic London, the second-largest of 19 private hospitals in the capital, is at no.33.

The London Lock Hospital was the first voluntary hospital for venereal disease. It was also the most famous and first of the Lock Hospitals which were developed for the treatment of syphilis following the end of the use of lazar hospitals, as leprosy declined. The hospital later developed maternity and gynaecology services before being incorporated into the National Health Service in 1948 and closing in 1952.

The Embassy of Ireland in London is the diplomatic mission of the Republic of Ireland in the United Kingdom. Ireland also maintains a Passport and Visa Office at 114A Cromwell Road, South Kensington.The London mission is concurrently the non-resident ambassador to Barbados.

Constitution Hill is a road in the City of Westminster in London. It connects the western end of The Mall (just in front of Buckingham Palace) with Hyde Park Corner, and is bordered by Buckingham Palace Gardens to the south, and Green Park to the north.

Gloucester House is a building at 137 Piccadilly, London, on the corner of Old Park Lane. The first house was built early in the reign of George III (reigned 1760–1820), and was where Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin briefly exhibited the Parthenon Marbles before selling them to the Crown, who now hold them in the British Museum. It was occupied by Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh from 1816 until his death in 1834, after which it was occupied by Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. The house was demolished in 1904 following the Duke of Cambridge's death. It was rebuilt as apartments. The first Hard Rock Cafe opened here in 1971.

The Royal Air Force Club, or RAF Club in short-form, is a club located at 128 Piccadilly, London. Membership is open to men and women who hold, or have held, commissions in the RAF, PMRAFNS, Reserve Forces and Commonwealth and friendly foreign air forces. The Chairman is Air Marshal Dame Sue Gray CB, OBE, RAF.

London Street Commune was a hippy movement formed during the 1960s. It aimed to highlight concerns about rising levels of homelessness and to house the hundreds of hippies sleeping in parks and derelict buildings in central London.The commune famously squatted a mansion at 144 Piccadilly on Hyde Park Corner, which became a media sensation. The group was quickly evicted in a high-profile Metropolitan Police operation and other squatting attempts were also rebuffed. One of the leaders of the commune who often spoke to the media was known as 'Dr. John.' He was actually Phil Cohen, who later became an urban ethnographer and emeritus professor at the University of East London.

The New Zealand War Memorial in London is a memorial to the war dead of New Zealand in the First and Second World Wars, unveiled in 2006. Officially named "Southern Stand", the memorial was designed by architect John Hardwick-Smith and sculptor Paul Dibble, both from New Zealand. It is located on the Piccadilly side of Hyde Park Corner, northeast of the Wellington Arch, and is diagonally opposite the Australian War Memorial. The traffic island also houses an Equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington, the Machine Gun Corps Memorial and the Royal Artillery Memorial.