We will begin in Trafalgar Square under the statue of Charles I, who looks down Whitehall towards Westminster, and explore how this king’s determination to rule by divine right led to civil war and his ultimate overthrow and execution.

We will continue down Whitehall, past Horse Guards’ Parade, where the royal bodyguard has traditionally been barracked. We will then examine the architectural vocabulary of many of the ministries of state, particularly the great block that houses the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We will consider the modest frontage of Number 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the Prime Minister.

We will continue on into Parliament Square, flanked on one side by the Houses of Parliament, on the other by the new Supreme Court and on the third by Westminster Abbey itself. We will visit the surviving ancient buildings that formed the medieval palace: the Jewel Tower, built to house Edward III’s treasury in 1365, and Westminster Hall, one of the largest medieval structures in England, the setting for coronation banquets and important trials.

Finally, we may visit Westminster Abbey and the royal tombs, once the glory of medieval monarchy, now the setting for coronations where monarchs are anointed through the will of the people in Parliament.