Mister Buckingham is Vera Weatherly’s best friend, a Mister Handy robot with the disposition of a British butler. Mister Buckingham is stationed in the Weatherly Hotel in Rivet City 24/7 and minds things while Vera is away.[1]
If the Lone Wanderer sits down at the table in the Weatherly Hotel when Mister Buckingham is taking orders he will ask the Lone Wanderer for their order, just like the citizens of Rivet City. He will face the player and automatically open a dialogue box asking "May I take your order?"
He will utter under his breath "Not that it's any of your business" after you ask him who his owner is. This sentence doesn't appear in the subtitles.
Mister Buckingham will respawn eventually if killed, unlike any other killable named non-player character.
Mister Buckingham's voice and personality seem to have been modeled after Basil Fawlty, the main character and hotel owner of the sitcom's namesake, "Fawlty Towers"
Mister Buckingham has a glitch in his system, if you buy your hotel room from him instead of Mrs. Weatherly, the room is yours forever. If you buy from Mrs. Weatherly, you only get the room for the night.
It is possible for the player to start a fight in Rivet City, leave, and then return later to find the city peaceful once again. If Mister Buckingham is killed with an energy weapon in a fight, when the player returns there will be an ash pile on the ground. After Mister Buckingham respawns, the ash pile will remain, and it is possible to interact with him via the ash pile. One simply needs to search the ash pile to initiate dialogue with Mister Buckingham. The players viewpoint will immediately shift to look at the living Mister Buckingham.
Be careful not to buy the hotel room from both Mister Buckingham and Vera, as you will be charged the full amount on each transaction, effectively making you pay double for the room.
PlayStation 3 Mister Buckingham and Private Jones have a tendency to randomly turn hostile towards the player unprovoked, even when the rest of Rivet City is peaceful. The other citizens will also turn hostile during the fight, even if the player doesn't fight back when being attacked.