Court of St. James's

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Court of St. James's is the popular name of the royal court of the United Kingdom. The court is considered to sit wherever the Sovereign, currently Queen Elizabeth II, happens to be. Thus meetings of the Privy Council may occur at the Court at Buckingham Palace, at Windsor Castle (typically during Easter), and at Holyrood Palace or Balmoral Castle in Scotland during Christmas and Summer.

The Court of St. James's Palace refers to the palace now used as the administrative centre of royal business. It was the official royal residence from 1702 until 1837, when Buckingham Palace took over the role. The name is now usually used only when accrediting and receiving ambassadors. Commonwealth High Commissioners are treated equally with ambassadors, but are credited "to the United Kingdom", rather than to the Sovereign and their Court because originally they were all Commonwealth Realms, having the British monarch as Head of State.

The court is often incorrectly described as the "Court of St. James".