In the 17th century, King James I began planting mulberry trees for rearing silkworms on the site of what are now the Palace Gardens. A large house already existed on the site at this time. In 1698, it was leased to the man who gave it its name, John Sheffield, the Duke of Buckingham.
It remained the property of the Dukes of Buckingham until 1762, when George III acquired the site as a private family residence for his wife, Queen Charlotte, but St James's Palace remained the official seat of the court. The house was subsequently remodelled and modernised many times until it became Buckingham Palace as we know it today.