Built largely between 1531 and 1536 by Henry VIII, much of the original red-brick building erected by Henry VIII still survives today, including the Chapel Royal, the gatehouse, some turrets and two surviving Tudor rooms in the State apartments.
It was in St. James’s Palace in 1558 that Mary Tudor signed the treaty surrendering Calais. Elizabeth I was resident during the threat posed by the Spanish Armada and set out from St James’s to address her troops assembled at Tilbury, to the east of London.
The future Charles II and James II were both born and baptised at St James’s, as were Mary of York (Mary II), Anne of York (Queen Anne) and James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender).
After the destruction of the Palace of Whitehall, all monarchs until William IV lived at St. James’s for part of the time. In 1809, much of the east and south ranges of the Palace was destroyed by fire, but the State rooms were restored by 1813.