The gray skies threatened rain. While my cousin and I were busy wolfing down a giant Burger King at the gates of St. Thomas Hospital, my attention shifted to what seemed to me a majestic island on the River Thames. The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament.

This architectural masterpiece can be found across the River Thames, just a few meters away from The London Eye. For a long time, the Palace of Westminster serves as the main base of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom – the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The Palace of Westminster was built on the same spot they used to call Thorney Island during the medieval times. It became a seat of power to numerous monarchs who ruled England. When St. Edward the Confessor, a Saxon monarch, came to power and started building the Westminster Abbey, Thorney Island was renamed as “Westminster “ (from the words “West Monastery”).

In 1834, the Palace of Westminster was destroyed by fire. A few years later, the Royal Commission appointed Sir Charles Barry to rebuild the palace using his proposed gothic architectural design. He incorporated in his design several towers – Victoria Tower, St. Stephen’s Tower and the Clock Tower.

Visitors have limited access to the area due to security reasons. But one can have a glimpse of the palace’s interiors during parliamentary debates regularly aired on BBC. The last time I saw it was during a lengthy heated debate over the missing CD file of British children’s trust fund last November that placed Prime Minister Gordon Brown on a hot seat.