The Mall

The Mall is the grand processional route that runs along the north side of St James's Park from Buckingham Palace through Admiralty Arch down to Trafalgar Square. Now tarmacked in pink to match the Queen's forecourt, The Mall was not designed with its current purpose in mind: Charles II had it laid out before Buckingham Palace was ever a royal residence. He wanted a new pitch for 'pallemaille', a game imported from France that involved hitting a ball with a mallet. The Mall became a ceremonial route in the early twentieth century – on state occasions the Queen rides her golden carriage down The Mall past waving crowds.