Claridge's

Claridge's occupies a unique place in London history, having earned the nickname the annex to Buckingham Palace. During the mid-nineteenth century, a wave of European royalty flocked to the hotel following the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. This reputation as a royal hostelry became so firmly cemented that the hotel staff once responded to a diplomat asking to speak to the King by asking which one he meant. It has served as a safe harbor for displaced monarchs and heads of state for generations, and its doors have remained a destination for the world's most prominent figures since it first opened its doors in the early nineteenth century.