Most people walk straight past the grand white building on Whitehall without realising they're looking at the final survivor of Europe's largest royal palace. Banqueting House is all that remains of the Palace of Westminster's sprawling neighbour, Whitehall Palace, which burned down in 1698 — and inside, it hides one of London's most remarkable art treasures: a ceiling painted by Peter Paul Rubens himself.
Commissioned by Charles I in 1629-30, the ceiling consists of three vast canvases celebrating his father, James I, and the idea of a divinely blessed monarchy. The central panel, The Apotheosis of James I, shows the king rising to heaven. There's a bitter irony here: less than two decades after the ceiling was finished, Charles I walked through one of the building's first-floor windows and onto a scaffold erected outside, where he was executed in 1649. The Banqueting House he'd built to glorify the crown became the stage for the end of his own.
The building itself is a landmark of English architecture. Designed by Inigo Jones and completed in 1622, it was the first classical building raised in central London, modelled on Palladian and Italian Renaissance principles that were revolutionary for the time. Its dramatic double-height hall, with a galleried upper floor once used for Stuart court masques and lavish banquets, still reads as something imported from Venice or Genoa rather than London.
Visiting is straightforward and refreshingly uncrowded compared with the big royal sites. The house sits directly opposite Horse Guards Parade, a short walk from Westminster and Trafalgar Square. Entry includes a look at the Rubens ceiling — visitors are typically encouraged to lie back on beanbags in the main hall to take in the paintings properly — along with exhibitions covering the palace's history, the masques held here, and the execution of Charles I.
The other famous function of the building these days is as an event venue, so opening hours can occasionally be affected by private hires — it's worth checking ahead before you go.
Why bother when the National Gallery is two minutes away? Because this is the rare place where architecture, art and British history collide in a single room. You're standing in the building where Cromwell declared the Commonwealth, where Shakespeare's plays were performed for the Stuart court, and where the English monarchy was momentarily abolished. For anyone with a couple of hours in Westminster, it's an easy, low-effort stop that most tourists miss entirely.
Pair it with a stroll down Whitehall to Horse Guards, Churchill War Rooms just off King Charles Street, or the Household Cavalry Museum next door to build out a history-heavy day in the heart of London.
