Tour of the House of Lords and House of commons

Through my many connections I have been very fortunate to have been able to visit the House of Lords and the House of Commons several times in my young life. I first went there when I was as young as 12 and it was just as breathtaking then as it is now.

The Palace of Westminster stands on the same spot where William the Conqueror built his first ever palace. Because of this illustrious and long history, there are many interesting insights one can garner. The most interesting fact is that in 1834 it was burnt to the ground. Before this it was a wooden structure and stored all of the archives and tax records for the government, which sadly all went up in flames during the fire.

After the fire of 1834, it was rebuilt in expensive stone so that if a fire happened again, the structure would survive. It was rebuilt in Victorian era as a Gothic palace; there are 100 staircases, more than 1,000 rooms and three miles of passages. A famous expression is that The Palace of Westminster contains "the corridors of power" for our country.

When I visited the House of Lords I took in minute details like the purple ribbons attached to coat-hangers in the members' cloakroom. I asked my cousin, hereditary peer Lord Inchiquin, what it means and he said it was so they could hang up their swords, as well as their coats. He still sees some old MPs do this apparently!

I have often walked passed Big Ben and apparently it was even my first word. So the story goes, when I was three years old my mother asked my older brother "what is that giant clock?" He had no idea, and even though I probably had less of an idea, I uttered the words "Big Ben." Perhaps I am destined to be Prime Minister one day!

Since then I have developed a better idea of what its purpose entails and some interesting facts as well. Firstly, it takes 300 panes of glass to cover the clock-face known to many as Big Ben. (Actually, to be accurate, Big Ben is the name of the bell inside the clock-tower not the tower itself!) Once every five years the clock-face is cleaned from the outside, by clock experts who abseil down it to do their scary maintenance - no pressure!

One of my sayings, is that it is people who make the world go around, and if you can not get on well with people, one is truly stuffed. It is essential to get one well with people and to understand what makes them tick; their mind set as a human being. Well, there are a lot of humans on this earth. Some of the brightest are in Westminster. There are 650 MPS elected to the house of Commons, 502 of whom are men. Only 148 are women. This is entirely unfair, as I think more women should join politics.

With such a teaming mass of humanity inside the house, it was not originally built for so many members. The chamber has only 427 seats implying there is often standing room only on big days, such as the Budget. Poor MP's, I do feel their pain when they are obliged to stand for too long. Do not fear! One can book one's seat in advance, which many do not know, as they want to keep it a secret.

The system goes like this: they place a 'prayer card' in the place they would like to sit. Then they have to be in the chamber at the start of the day's sittings for actual prayers to sanctify the debate. For over centuries, every day in the Commons has begun with prayers.

MPs have to get up very early on big days like the Budget or hearing the Prime Minister speak. They often or not have to get up at 8 am in the morning. As I am not a morning person myself, so I would make a terrible MP.

In my dreams I often receive rapturous applause liked Caesar, although in reality it is very rare that I get such praise. In the house of Commons, it is far rarer! Tony Blair managed to obtain a standing ovation on the day he stood down as prime minister and left the chamber for the final time.

Passion plays a key role; if one is keen enough to be a politician they also have to have ambition, which needs to be harnessed to propel them up the shaky ladder of politics. According to public opinion Politicians have a low moral standing. I think a politician should be successful and rich before entering politics so that he is not corrupted by bribes before he enters the House.

The Palace is owned by the monarch yet they are only allowed to enter the building on ceremonial events. In my opinion, Britain is a rare country in many aspects because these buildings symbolise both the government and the religious nature of our country. When most people think of the Palace of Westminster they often associate it immediately with the Abbey across the Green and remember the coronation and what that implies for the country.

There is a lot to take in each visit, I think there are many aspects to entering politics. The Houses of Parliament have always resonated deeply with me ever since my father was made into a Papal Knight in a ceremony in the House of Lords. It is a deeply moving event to see my father being knighted and perhaps one day maybe I can be knighted there too. Like father, like son.