1. The Palace gets its name from an 18th-century Tory politician. John Sheffield, 3rd Earl of Mulgrave and Marquess of Normanby, was created Duke of Buckingham in 1703. He built Buckingham House for himself as a gr and London home. Buckingham Palace measures 108m across the front, 120m deep (including the Quadrangle) and 24m high.
2. The Palace’s total floor area covers more than 77,000 square metres (just over 19 acres).
3. There are 775 rooms in Buckingham Palace, including 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms.
4. Electricity was first installed in the Ball Room in 1883, and between 1883 and 1887 electricity was extended throughout the Palace. There are about 40,000 lights in the building.
5. There are more than 350 clocks and watches in the Palace, one of the largest collections of working clocks anywhere. Two full-time horological conservators wind them up every week and keep them in good working order.
6. Several of the State Rooms were used for the Royal Wedding reception for the marriage of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. These include the Picture Gallery, Centre Room, Green Drawing Room , White Drawing Room, Music Room, Bow Room, Ball Room, Ball Supper Room, Throne Room.
7. Visiting heads of state occupy a suite of rooms at the Palace known as the Belgian suite, on the ground floor of the north-facing garden front. These rooms were first decorated for Prince Albert’s uncle Léopold I, first King of the Belgians. King Edward VIII also lived in these rooms during his reign.
8. More than 800 members of staff are based at the Palace. Their jobs range from housekeeping to horticulture, catering to correspondence. Some of the more unusual jobs include fendersmith, clockmaker and flagman.
9. The balcony of Buckingham Palace is one of the most famous in the world. The first recorded Royal balcony appearance took place in 1851, when Queen Victoria stepped on to it during celebrations for the opening of the Great Exhibition. King George VI introduced the custom of the RAF fly-past at the end of Trooping the Colour, when the Royal Family appear on the balcony.
10. A flag always flies above Buckingham Palace. When The Queen is in residence, the Royal Standard flies. When the Sovereign is not present, the Union Flag flies instead. A flag sergeant has the role of raising and lowering the right flag as The Queen arrives at or departs from the Palace.

Watch Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace 

Of course if you plan it correctly, after you tour the Palace, you can head over to watch the guard change. The official start time of 11.30am, however the guards start arriving with music at 11.15am. The ceremony runs for 30 minutes and all the guards taking part in the daily ceremony are dressed in traditional red tunics and bearskin hats. The ceremony is set to music and takes place on different days depending on the month you visit.  And yes get there as early as you can, my daughter was able to get this photo from sitting on top of the gates near Buckingham Palace.