Power, Pageantry and A King’s Final Moments: Inside Banqueting House

Walk along Whitehall and you will undoubtedly see an eager cluster of tourists around Horse Guards, admiring the King’s Life Guard poised on their horses. Yet, opposite, is a building that many pass by without a second glance and one that holds a far more dramatic place in history: Banqueting House.

This striking structure is the only surviving major fragment of the vast, long-lost Palace of Whitehall. Step inside, and you’ll find not only architectural and artistic brilliance, but a space that was once at the very centre of 17th-century royal power. Banqueting House has witnessed the splendour of Stuart court masques to a split second moment outside its walls on 30th January 1649, that shook the nation: the execution of a king.

Now, after an extensive restoration project that started in May 2024, Banqueting House will be reopening fully in August 2026. There are also a few open days in the meantime, a great chance to have a look inside this unique survivor.

A Great Lost Royal Palace

The Palace of Whitehall was the primary royal residence and centre of power in London from 1530 until 1698. 

With origins going back to the 13th century, the site was originally called York Place and was the London residence of the Archbishops of York. From 1514, it was the residence of Archbishop Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor, until his downfall in 1529. Following Wolsey’s fall from favour, Henry appropriated the palace for himself. The Palace of Westminster had largely burnt down in a fire in 1512 and Henry wanted a new palace to rival the grandeur of those lived in by his European counterparts. 

In one way he succeeded, because it became the largest palace in Europe, a 23 acre site with over 1500 rooms. ‘Grand’, however, is perhaps not the right word because it was essentially a sprawling royal suburb, a collection of buildings, rather than an architecturally coherent palace. It was also used for lavish entertainments, ceremonies and favourite pastimes such as hunting, jousting and tennis. 

Banqueting House

A new Banqueting House was commissioned by King James I in 1619, after the previous one had burnt down. Architect of the hour Inigo Jones was brought in to design it. Inigo Jones had travelled around Europe, particularly Italy and was the first architect to bring back to England the ideals in architecture from the classical world. He was especially influenced by the work of Andrea Palladio and what became known as Palladian architecture.

Jones was already working on The Queen’s House in Greenwich, but this would not be completed until 1635. The Banqueting House was therefore the first completed neo-classical building in Britain.

Today London is covered with neo-classical architecture, but you have to imagine this as looking so different to everything around it, with its perfect proportion, symmetry and neo-classical details such as columns and pilasters. It certainly would have stood out from the Tudor, red-brick Gothic of the rest of the palace.

The Portland stone facade that you see today was added by Sir John Soane in 1829. It would have originally been more colourful with alternating honey-coloured and pinkish-brown stone. 

On the interior, the hall is a perfect double cube (110x55x55 feet). It is also adorned with Ionic half-columns and Corinthian pilasters, inspired by the design of Roman basilicas.

Masques

Banqueting House was used for a variety of purposes. Despite the name, it was generally used for masques, rather than what we would think of as ‘banqueting’ today. Masques were an extravagant event combining music, dancing, singing and theatre, sometimes with elaborate sets and special effects. Courtiers and royals would often disguise themselves and perform in the show, with characters including gods and goddesses. The purpose was to demonstrate the glory and God-given right to rule of the Stuart monarchs.

Before Inigo Jones became a renowned architect, he was actually a pioneering stage and costume designer for masques. He worked with playwright Ben Jonson on over 500 performances and is credited with introducing moveable scenery and the proscenium arch to English theatre. Below is a costume and stage design by Jones for two different masques.

Ceremonies And Services

Banqueting House was also where the ‘Royal Maundy’ often took place. This involved the giving out money, clothes and food to the poor on the Thursday before Easter. This was to emulate Jesus taking the role of a servant and washing the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper.  The monarch was also expected to wash the feet of the paupers who approached them, however said feet had already been scrubbed three times by various officials in preparation for the ceremony. The Banqueting House was last used for the giving out of alms in 1890, with Queen Victoria. 

From James I until Queen Anne, Banqueting House was often for the ‘Touching for the King’s Evil’ ceremony. The ‘King’s Evil’ was likely scrofula or leprosy, which caused growths on the face and neck. Since the medieval period, monarchs had claimed to be able to heal this ailment with their touch and so the afflicted would approach the monarch to be touched on the infected points. Lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson, for example, who had scrofula as a child, was touched by Queen Anne there in 1712.

The Undercroft

Underneath the main hall is the undercroft. This was originally a more intimate ‘den’ for James I to host drinking and parties.

At one end there was a ‘grotto’, a space decorated with shells. These artificial caves were popular in Ancient Rome and Greece and saw a revival in the Renaissance era in Italy. This fashion was then brought back to Britain and they became very fashionable amongst the upper classes. I have written about Grotto Passage in Marylebone before here. 

The rubens Ceiling

The most spectacular part of Banqueting House is the carved and gilded ceiling. Since 1636 it has been home to nine paintings by the preeminent Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens. They had been commissioned in 1629 by Charles I to pay homage to the reign of his father James I. 

The total area he was working with was 2420 square feet (225 square metres). The smaller sections were painted in his studio in Antwerp, but the three larger canvases were too large and had to be painted in the Antwerp Exchange, or nearby Carmelite monastery. Rubens had a team of assistants, who generally painted the less complicated sections of the painting, such as the armour. 

When the canvasses arrived in England, in the charge of Rubens assistants, they realised, to their horror, that they were not the correct size for the spaces. This was because feet and inches were different lengths in England and Belgium. They therefore had to be trimmed slightly to fit in. 

They were also removed and taken to safe keeping during World War Two. This was a hastily carried out job and you can still today see the lines from where the wood-backed canvasses were sawn into smaller segments, to make them easier to transport. 

What Do They Depict?

The three largest canvases include portraits of James I. One of those either side of the central oval depicts a younger King James as a wise and peaceful ruler.

The other shows James uniting the crowns of England and Scotland.

The central canvas is the final apotheosis of King James I and depicts him being carried to heaven. This particularly was aiming to symbolise his and his descendants’ divine right to rule. 

The four corner ovals and side panels represent the triumph of virtues over vice. Wisdom, temperance and liberality are all depicted, as well as allegorical figures such as Hercules and Minerva. 

The Final Walk Of Charles I

Considering what the paintings aim to portray about the sacred and untouchable power of monarchs, it is ironic and symbolic that this ceiling was one of the last sights King Charles I would have had before his execution. They represented everything he believed in and everything that ultimately led to his downfall.

After losing the Civil War, Charles I was condemned to death for High Treason. On the 30th January 1649 Charles walked from St James’s Palace, where he had spent his final night, through St James’s Park to Whitehall. It was a bitterly cold day and Charles requested two shirts to help stop any shivering, which he worried could be misconstrued as cowardice.

He then spent time in prayer in the bedchamber in Whitehall Palace before being summoned to the scaffold. Charles walked through Banqueting House, beneath the Rubens paintings he had commissioned twenty years earlier showing his father being raised to heaven after a great and glorious reign. He then exited through one of the windows onto a specially-built, raised scaffold. He then delivered a speech to the crowd declaring his innocence.

Charles then lowered his neck onto the block. After Charles signalled, his head was swiftly severed from his shoulders in one single swing of the axe. A collective groan is said to have rippled through the crowd and his head was held up for the crowd to see.

The End of Whitehall Palace

Most of Whitehall Palace was destroyed in a fire in 1698, started after a servant left drying linen on a charcoal brazier in one of the bedchambers. Most of the complex was destroyed. King William III saved Banqueting House by ordering that the southern window be bricked up to prevent the flames from reaching the interior.

St James’s Palace became the official residence of the monarch, until Queen Victoria moved to Buckingham Palace. The area that Whitehall Palace had occupied was gradually turned into a Government and residential area. I have written about the Old War Office, just up the road, in another blog post.

Visiting Banqueting House 

As you have seen, Banqueting House is, in many ways, at the heart of the story of 17th century Britain. It is also architecturally pioneering and is home to Rubens’ stunning Baroque paintings. Hopefully the above rundown of its remarkable story has persuaded you to pay them a visit.

The recent renovations have included the replacement of a 1960s floor with a new English oak floor, new heating systems, lighting and a discreet lift, to offer step-free access. 

The Banqueting House will reopen fully for visits over the summer from 03 Aug – 20 September 2026. There are also public open days that can be booked on 03 April, 01 May, 29 May, 26 June 2026. Find out more on their website here. 

Thank you very much for reading, check out more of London’s historical wonders below.