The Brutons Go to England: Little Brute, Little Brute, where have you been?

I've been to London to visit the Queen!

Well, I visited her house anyway! Mummy and Daddy took me to see Buckingham Palace yesterday. I don't mean just the outside, I've seen that a million times. We actually got to go inside this time!

First though, we watched part of the Changing of the Guard. I was pretty excited when the soldiers walked right by us! We didn't stay to watch everything, because we weren't right up next to the Palace, but I enjoyed seeing the soldiers and the horses go by.

Buckingham Palace is only open for people to visit two months every year. It's been one of Mummy's dreams to get to go inside, so Daddy said we had to just do it! Man, it was awesome--I loved it.

Just like at Windsor, we aren't allowed to take pictures inside. But, I'll tell you about my favorite parts.

When we first walked in through the Ministerial entrance, we saw big windows straight ahead. They look out into the courtyard of the palace, which is very plain. The buildings are very nice, but there aren't any plants of anything to look at. Daddy explained that that's where the carriages come to pick up important people and take them out of the palace and out in to London. Daddy also told me, that when Queen Victoria moved in to Buckingham Palace, the front part wasn't there--it was a palace in the shape of a "u"! They added the last bit while she was Queen.

After that, we walked along a hallway and into the room with the Grand Staircase. That was Mummy's favorite room. She told us that she wished she had on a pretty dress to walk up and down the stairs, then she would feel like a princess! It would be fun to see Mummy all dressed up like a princess and wear a crown. She let me walk up the stairs all by myself. It took a while, but I like doing that sort of thing on my own. The carpet is bright red, and all the walls are cream with lots and lots of gold trimming. It definitely lived up to its name!

After the Grand Staircase, we walked through the other 18 state rooms that were open to us. We saw the Throne Room, which I really liked, but Daddy said I couldn't go sit on the thrones. I thought they looked comfy, but I don't know why the Queen's husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, wants a pink throne! I bet the Queen told him he had to. (Daddy had to have pink in his bedroom when he first married Mummy. I guess even daddies have to do what mommies say.)

Right now, Buckingham Palace has a special exhibit about the children who grew up at Buckingham Palace. This includes the Queen, Elizabeth. They had all sorts of toys, clothes, and other things that belonged to the Queen, her sister, and the other kids that lived there. Mummy's favorite was a beautiful dress that Queen Victoria wore when she was a child. She also liked the Queen's copy of Black Beauty that she had when she was little. I didn't care much about that, but I really wanted to play with the miniature James Bond car that Prince Andrew had when he was little. Aston Martin made it just for him!

I was getting pretty tired as we got towards the end. At one point, I just didn't think I could go on, and I laid down on the carpet. I wanted to just take a nap right there in the middle of the Dining Hall, but Mummy said I had to wait until we went outside and I could have a nap in my buggy.

**Mummy's note: he seriously did lay down, put his hands down by his side, and closed his eyes for a second. I seriously thought he was going to go to sleep! I guess the carpet in Buckingham Palace is really comfy. And no--I don't usually let my child just lay down on the floor when we're out and about, but he laid down faster than I could stop him!

When we finally reached the end of the tour, we walked out into the garden at the back of Buckingham Palace. A huge lawn of beautiful grass was waiting for us! I wanted to run out on it really badly, but they had it roped off. Daddy said if he lived there he would play golf on it all the time. Mummy said she would ride her horse on it. That's fine, but all I wanted to do was run and run and run on it!

After Buckingham Palace, we went to visit the Royal Mews, where they keep the Queen's carriages, horses, and their cars!

Of course Mummy was the one who wanted to see this the most. She was so excited to see the horses and where they lived! When we first walked in, we looked at some of the carriages that the Queen has ridden in. There is a new one that the Queen bought for her Diamond Jubilee a couple years ago. It is really fancy and so pretty. One cool thing about it, is that it has 100 years of British history items on it. Including a crown on the top made out of wood from the HMS Victory, which Mummy said was an important old ship. I thought that was amazing.

I got so excited, that I ran out of there to go see more. But unfortunately, I tripped and hit my face. There was a lot of blood on my lip. It hurt so badly, I cried and cried. A very nice lady came over and asked if we wanted first aid, but Mummy said that I would be all right. After she checked to make sure my teeth were okay and we stopped the bleeding, I felt better enough to keep going.

We went in to a cool room where a lady showed us all about the different uniforms the drivers get to wear when they work. Did you know, that they don't make any new uniforms? They have been using the exact same uniforms for 100 years, just altering them for the people who use them? Cool huh? She let Daddy try on a wig and a hat for a driver. I thought it looked awesome! Mummy made me put on a hat, but i didn't really like it.

We walked through the stables and saw where the horses lived. Mummy was so sad because there weren't any horses there. Just their names over their stalls (the Queen names all the horses herself!). She was feeling so sad when we turned in our audio guide and headed out, but then, just before we left, there they were! Four of the horses waiting to see us!

Two of them were Windsor Greys, the horses that pull the carriages. The other two were Clevland Bays. They are for visiting people to ride on. Mummy was so excited, she made Daddy and me laugh.

When we left there, Mummy put me in my buggy. I didn't even make it through the shop before I fell asleep. I was SO tired!

Our last bit stop was the Imperial War Museum. It just barely reopened in July, and it is awesome! They have real planes hanging from the ceiling, including a Spitfire. Mummy and Daddy wanted to go to make sure and see the new First World War exhibit that just opened. There was a big line, so we went to see a few other things first.

In one area, we learned about what life was like for one family during World War Two. I got to play with some radios and sit in a real Andersen Shelter! I wanted to stay there all day. I liked singing along with the Air Raid Sirens when they went off, but the bomb noises were a little scary. When Mummy said it was time to go, I was so sad. She let us stay a little longer, and then when they sounded "all clear" again we left. I think I would like an Anderson Shelter to play it, but I hope we never have to go in to a shelter for real. Those people were so brave!

In the Anderson Shelter

We finally made it in to the First World War section. There was SO much to see and do! I liked playing with a little ship that went along the map and looking at all the videos. My favorite part was probably seeing if I was tall enough to be a soldier. According to the chart, I was a little too short. I also didn't have a big enough chest size--you had to be at least 32 inches around your chest to join the army. Daddy made it, but I would have had to grow a little more.

In the trenches--there was lots of mud.

These are real signs from the trenches!

This is a piece of the Red Baron's plane! A British soldier took it as a souvenir.

While we were there, Mummy talked to me about all the people that fought and died so we could live in a free world. I felt very sad that so many people died, but Mummy explained that if we always stand up for what's right, we will honor them. I think the museum did a really good job of honoring those people.

At the very end of the day, we had dinner at McDonald's where I got a new dragon toy with my Happy Meal. That was fun, and we took it back to Buckingham Palace to take some jumping pictures--those are my favorite. I knew exactly what Mummy was doing when she set up the camera and she and Daddy held my hands. I got so excited, I couldn't stop laughing and started jumping right away! I think our picture turned out pretty fun--what do you think?

--Little Brute --