Buckingham Palace Christmas market: why tourists flocked there – and found just locked gates and big puddles

The hot spot seemed the perfect place for Yuletide-loving royalists. But, as with the Eiffel Tower in Beijing and some of the most picturesque windmills in the Netherlands, there was much less to it than first met the eye ... Yes: broad paths lined with wooden huts, festooned with lights and Christmas trees, "a beautiful winter wonderland atmosphere" - all within the forecourt of the royal palace. It sounds almost too good to be true. But look at the picture! Where are all those lights hanging from?