The Banqueting House was designed by Inigo Jones and was built from 1619-1622 at a cost of £15.618 It is the sole surviving component of the Palace of Whitehall. Charles I commissioned Peter Paul Rubens to paint the ceiling. He was paid the astronomical fee of £3,000. He painted the panels in the Netherlands and it is the only ceiling by him which is still in situ. The only time it has been removed was during the second world war.
