Kensington Palace
Encyclopedia
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens
in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family
since the 17th century and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke
and Duchess of Gloucester and Prince
and Princess Michael of Kent
, while the Duke
and Duchess of Kent reside at Wren House. Kensington Palace is also used on an unofficial basis by Prince Harry
, as well as his cousin Zara Phillips
.
On 6 November 2011, it was announced that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will move from their temporary residence in Kensington Palace to the four-story, 20-room Apartment 1-A, formerly the residence of Princess Margaret
. It is expected that they will move in 2013, with renovation work taking place in 2012. Once the Duke and Duchess move into their new apartment, Prince Harry is expected to move his official residence from Clarence House
to the residence the Duke and Duchess vacate.
It was the official residence of Diana, Princess of Wales
(from 1981 until her death in 1997), Princess Margaret
(from 1960 until her death in 2002) and Princess Alice
(from 1994 until her death in 2004).
Today, the State Rooms are open to the public and managed by the independent charity Historic Royal Palaces
; a nonprofit organisation that does not receive public funds. The offices and private accommodation areas of the Palace remain the responsibility of the Royal Household
and are maintained by the Royal Household Property Section.
The nearest tubes are in Queensway
, Bayswater, High Street Kensington
, or (slightly further) Gloucester Road
.
. It was acquired from his heir, who was Secretary of State to William III
, in 1689, because the King wanted a residence near London but away from the smoky air of the capital, because he was asthmatic. At that time Kensington was a suburban village location outside London, but more accessible than Hampton Court, a water journey on the Thames. A private road was laid out from the Palace to Hyde Park Corner
, broad enough for several carriages to travel abreast, part of which survives today as Rotten Row
. The Palace was improved and extended by Sir Christopher Wren
with pavilions attached to each corner of the central block, for it now needed paired Royal Apartments approached by the Great Stairs, a council chamber, and the Chapel Royal. Then, when Wren re-oriented the house to face west, he built north and south wings to flank the approach, made into a proper cour d'honneur
that was entered through an archway surmounted by a clock tower. Nevertheless, as a private domestic retreat, it was referred to as Kensington House, rather than 'Palace'. The walled kitchen gardens at Kensington House supplied fruits and vegetables for the Court of St. James's
.
For seventy years, Kensington Palace was the favoured residence of British monarchs, although the official seat of the Court was and remains at St. James's
which has not been the actual royal residence in London since the 17th century. Queen Mary II
died of smallpox in Kensington Palace in 1694. In 1702 William suffered a fall from a horse at Hampton Court and was brought to Kensington Palace, where he died shortly after. After William III's death, the palace became the residence of Queen Anne
. Sir John Vanbrugh
designed the Orangery
for her in 1704, and a magnificent baroque parterre
30 acre (121,000 m2) garden was laid out by Henry Wise, whose nursery was nearby at Brompton (illustration, left). Anne also had Christopher Wren to complete the extensions that William and Mary had begun, resulting in the section known as the Queen's Apartments, with the Wren staircase, known as 'The Queen's Entrance', which currently serves as the exit point, with shallow steps so that Queen Anne could walk down gracefully.
_after_richard_cattermole_(1795-1858).jpg)
George I spent lavishly on new royal apartments from 1718. William Kent
painted a staircase and some ceilings. In 1722 he designed the Cupola Room, the principal state room, with feigned coffering in its high coved ceiling; in 1819, the Cupola Room was the site of the christening of Princess Alexandrina Victoria, who had been born at Kensington, in the apartments of the Duke and Duchess of Kent (the actual room being what is now the North Drawing Room).
The last reigning monarch to use Kensington Palace was George II. For his consort, Charles Bridgeman
swept away the outmoded parterres and redesigned Kensington Gardens
in a form that is still recognizable today: his remaining features are The Serpentine
, the basin called the Round Pond, and the Broad Walk.
After George II's death in the palace in 1760, Kensington Palace was only used for more minor royalty, including the young daughter of the Duke of Kent who was living in the Palace with her widowed mother when she was told of her accession to the throne as Queen Victoria. Queen Mary
(grandmother of the present Queen) was born at Kensington Palace in 1867. Her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Teck, were living at the palace. Edward VIII called the palace an "aunt heap" because of the number of royal relatives residing there.
In 1981, apartments 8 and 9 were combined to create the London residence of the newly married Prince and Princess of Wales, Charles
and Diana
, and it remained the official residence of Diana, Princess of Wales after her divorce until her death. Her sons, Princes William and Harry
, went to local nursery and pre-preparatory schools in Notting Hill
, which is a short drive away, and were raised in Kensington Palace, which was a "children's paradise" according to Andrew Morton
, with long passageways, a helicopter pad, and many outdoor gardens, including one on the roof where the family spent many hours.
The late Diana, Princess of Wales
's coffin spent its last night in London
at the Palace, before the Princess's funeral at the Westminster Abbey
on 6 September 1997.
In 2008, it was announced that to continue living from 2010 in their previously-subsidised Apartment 10, Prince
and Princess Michael of Kent
would be required to begin paying rent of £120,000 a year, the market rate of the five-bedroom, five-reception flat, rather than the nominal amount of £70 per week they had been paying for the previous seven years. Elizabeth II had previously been subsidising the £10,000 a month cost for the Kents to use their flat. Members of Parliament on the palaces committee had demanded the change after the Kents' rent had come to light. The Kents have lived in the apartment since 1979, only paying their utility bills prior to 2002. Other minor members of the royal family who reside at the palace are the Duke and Duchess of Kent and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
The palace was featured in the BBC documentary series Tales from the Palaces
and is now home to the Enchanted Palace exhibition. During Halloween weekend 2011, the Historic Royal Palaces
conducted nighttime Eerie Evening Tours of Enchanted Palace, highlighting mysterious sights and sounds within the palace's State Rooms, as referenced in the warders' log book over the centuries.
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, is one of the Royal Parks of London, lying immediately to the west of Hyde Park. It is shared between the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The park covers an area of 111 hectares .The open spaces...
in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is a central London borough of Royal borough status. After the City of Westminster, it is the wealthiest borough in England....
in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
since the 17th century and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester is a member of the British Royal Family. Prince Richard is the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. He has been Duke of Gloucester since his father's death in 1974. He is currently 20th in the line of succession...
and Duchess of Gloucester and Prince
Prince Michael of Kent
Prince Michael of Kent is a grandson of King George V and Queen Mary, making him a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He is also the first cousin once removed of Prince Phillip. Prince Michael occasionally carries out royal duties representing the Queen at some functions in Commonwealth realms outside...
and Princess Michael of Kent
Princess Michael of Kent
Princess Michael of Kent is an Austrian-Hungarian member of the British Royal Family. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent, who is a grandson of King George V....
, while the Duke
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
The Duke of Kent graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 29 July 1955 as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Scots Greys, the beginning of a military career that would last over 20 years. He was promoted to captain on 29 July 1961. The Duke of Kent saw service in Hong Kong from 1962–63...
and Duchess of Kent reside at Wren House. Kensington Palace is also used on an unofficial basis by Prince Harry
Prince Harry of Wales
Prince Henry of Wales , commonly known as Prince Harry, is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and fourth grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, as well as his cousin Zara Phillips
Zara Phillips
Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, MBE is the second child and only daughter of Princess Anne and her first husband Captain Mark Phillips and is 13th in the line of succession to the throne...
.
On 6 November 2011, it was announced that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will move from their temporary residence in Kensington Palace to the four-story, 20-room Apartment 1-A, formerly the residence of Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI....
. It is expected that they will move in 2013, with renovation work taking place in 2012. Once the Duke and Duchess move into their new apartment, Prince Harry is expected to move his official residence from Clarence House
Clarence House
Clarence House is a royal home in London, situated on The Mall, in the City of Westminster. It is attached to St. James's Palace and shares the palace's garden. For nearly 50 years, from 1953 to 2002, it was home to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, but is since then the official residence of The...
to the residence the Duke and Duchess vacate.
It was the official residence of Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
(from 1981 until her death in 1997), Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon was the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI....
(from 1960 until her death in 2002) and Princess Alice
Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester
Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester was a member of the British Royal Family, the wife and then widow of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of George V and Queen Mary.The daughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch & Queensberry, Scotland’s largest landowner, her brothers Walter and...
(from 1994 until her death in 2004).
Today, the State Rooms are open to the public and managed by the independent charity Historic Royal Palaces
Historic Royal Palaces
Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity created in 1998 to manage Britain's unoccupied royal palaces. These are:* The Tower of London* Hampton Court Palace* Kensington Palace - the state rooms only.* Banqueting House* Kew Palace...
; a nonprofit organisation that does not receive public funds. The offices and private accommodation areas of the Palace remain the responsibility of the Royal Household
Royal Household
A Royal Household in ancient and medieval monarchies formed the basis for the general government of the country as well as providing for the needs of the sovereign and his relations....
and are maintained by the Royal Household Property Section.
The nearest tubes are in Queensway
Queensway tube station
Queensway is a London Underground station on the Central Line, just inside the boundary of the City of Westminster with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is at the junction of Queensway and Bayswater Road, and is northwest of Kensington Gardens...
, Bayswater, High Street Kensington
High Street Kensington tube station
High Street Kensington is a London Underground station at Kensington High Street.The station is on the Circle Line between Gloucester Road and Notting Hill Gate, and the District Line between Earl's Court and Notting Hill Gate. It is in Travelcard Zone 1....
, or (slightly further) Gloucester Road
Gloucester Road tube station
-Deep-level station:By the beginning of the 20th century, the MDR had been extended to Richmond, Ealing Broadway, Hounslow West and Wimbledon in the west and to New Cross Gate in the east...
.
History
The original early 17th-century building was constructed in the village of Kensington as Nottingham House for the Earl of NottinghamEarl of Nottingham
Earl of Nottingham is a title that has been created seven times in the Peerage of England.-Earls of Nottingham, First creation :* John de Mowbray , 5th Baron Mowbray-Earls of Nottingham, Second creation :...
. It was acquired from his heir, who was Secretary of State to William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, in 1689, because the King wanted a residence near London but away from the smoky air of the capital, because he was asthmatic. At that time Kensington was a suburban village location outside London, but more accessible than Hampton Court, a water journey on the Thames. A private road was laid out from the Palace to Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...
, broad enough for several carriages to travel abreast, part of which survives today as Rotten Row
Rotten Row
Rotten Row is a broad track running for along the south side of Hyde Park in London. It leads from Hyde Park Corner to the Serpentine Road. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Rotten Row was a fashionable place for upper-class Londoners to be seen...
. The Palace was improved and extended by Sir Christopher Wren
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
with pavilions attached to each corner of the central block, for it now needed paired Royal Apartments approached by the Great Stairs, a council chamber, and the Chapel Royal. Then, when Wren re-oriented the house to face west, he built north and south wings to flank the approach, made into a proper cour d'honneur
Cour d'Honneur
Cour d'Honneur is the architectural term for defining a three-sided courtyard, created when the main central block, or corps de logis, is flanked by symmetrical advancing secondary wings, containing minor rooms...
that was entered through an archway surmounted by a clock tower. Nevertheless, as a private domestic retreat, it was referred to as Kensington House, rather than 'Palace'. The walled kitchen gardens at Kensington House supplied fruits and vegetables for the Court of St. James's
Court of St. James's
The Court of St James's is the royal court of the United Kingdom. It previously had the same function in the Kingdom of England and in the Kingdom of Great Britain .-Overview:...
.
St. James's Palace
St. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James's Park. Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it has remained the official residence of the Sovereign and the most senior royal palace in the UK...
which has not been the actual royal residence in London since the 17th century. Queen Mary II
Mary II of England
Mary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
died of smallpox in Kensington Palace in 1694. In 1702 William suffered a fall from a horse at Hampton Court and was brought to Kensington Palace, where he died shortly after. After William III's death, the palace became the residence of Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
. Sir John Vanbrugh
John Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
designed the Orangery
Orangery
An orangery was a building in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th to the 19th centuries and given a classicising architectural form. The orangery was similar to a greenhouse or conservatory...
for her in 1704, and a magnificent baroque parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...
30 acre (121,000 m2) garden was laid out by Henry Wise, whose nursery was nearby at Brompton (illustration, left). Anne also had Christopher Wren to complete the extensions that William and Mary had begun, resulting in the section known as the Queen's Apartments, with the Wren staircase, known as 'The Queen's Entrance', which currently serves as the exit point, with shallow steps so that Queen Anne could walk down gracefully.
William Kent
William Kent , born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, was an eminent English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.He was baptised as William Cant.-Education:...
painted a staircase and some ceilings. In 1722 he designed the Cupola Room, the principal state room, with feigned coffering in its high coved ceiling; in 1819, the Cupola Room was the site of the christening of Princess Alexandrina Victoria, who had been born at Kensington, in the apartments of the Duke and Duchess of Kent (the actual room being what is now the North Drawing Room).
The last reigning monarch to use Kensington Palace was George II. For his consort, Charles Bridgeman
Charles Bridgeman
Charles Bridgeman was an English garden designer in the onset of the naturalistic landscape style. Although he was a key figure in the transition of English garden design from the Anglo-Dutch formality of patterned parterres and avenues to a freer style that incorporated formal, structural and...
swept away the outmoded parterres and redesigned Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, is one of the Royal Parks of London, lying immediately to the west of Hyde Park. It is shared between the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The park covers an area of 111 hectares .The open spaces...
in a form that is still recognizable today: his remaining features are The Serpentine
Serpentine (lake)
The Serpentine is a 28-acre recreational lake in Hyde Park, London, England, created in 1730. Although it is common to refer to the entire body of water as the Serpentine, strictly the name refers only to the eastern half of the lake...
, the basin called the Round Pond, and the Broad Walk.
After George II's death in the palace in 1760, Kensington Palace was only used for more minor royalty, including the young daughter of the Duke of Kent who was living in the Palace with her widowed mother when she was told of her accession to the throne as Queen Victoria. Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
(grandmother of the present Queen) was born at Kensington Palace in 1867. Her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Teck, were living at the palace. Edward VIII called the palace an "aunt heap" because of the number of royal relatives residing there.
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
and Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, and it remained the official residence of Diana, Princess of Wales after her divorce until her death. Her sons, Princes William and Harry
Prince Harry of Wales
Prince Henry of Wales , commonly known as Prince Harry, is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and fourth grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, went to local nursery and pre-preparatory schools in Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
, which is a short drive away, and were raised in Kensington Palace, which was a "children's paradise" according to Andrew Morton
Andrew Morton (writer)
Andrew David Morton is a former British Fleet Street journalist, a notable writer and biographer.Before moving into a career in journalism, he attended grammar school, then studied history at the University of Sussex....
, with long passageways, a helicopter pad, and many outdoor gardens, including one on the roof where the family spent many hours.
The late Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
's coffin spent its last night in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at the Palace, before the Princess's funeral at the Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
on 6 September 1997.
In 2008, it was announced that to continue living from 2010 in their previously-subsidised Apartment 10, Prince
Prince Michael of Kent
Prince Michael of Kent is a grandson of King George V and Queen Mary, making him a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. He is also the first cousin once removed of Prince Phillip. Prince Michael occasionally carries out royal duties representing the Queen at some functions in Commonwealth realms outside...
and Princess Michael of Kent
Princess Michael of Kent
Princess Michael of Kent is an Austrian-Hungarian member of the British Royal Family. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent, who is a grandson of King George V....
would be required to begin paying rent of £120,000 a year, the market rate of the five-bedroom, five-reception flat, rather than the nominal amount of £70 per week they had been paying for the previous seven years. Elizabeth II had previously been subsidising the £10,000 a month cost for the Kents to use their flat. Members of Parliament on the palaces committee had demanded the change after the Kents' rent had come to light. The Kents have lived in the apartment since 1979, only paying their utility bills prior to 2002. Other minor members of the royal family who reside at the palace are the Duke and Duchess of Kent and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
The palace was featured in the BBC documentary series Tales from the Palaces
Tales from the Palaces
Tales from the Palaces is a British television documentary series following the conservation teams inside Britain's Historic Royal Palaces: Hampton Court, The Tower of London, Kensington Palace, The Banqueting House and Kew Palace. It is produced by BBC and has been shown worldwide including in...
and is now home to the Enchanted Palace exhibition. During Halloween weekend 2011, the Historic Royal Palaces
Historic Royal Palaces
Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity created in 1998 to manage Britain's unoccupied royal palaces. These are:* The Tower of London* Hampton Court Palace* Kensington Palace - the state rooms only.* Banqueting House* Kew Palace...
conducted nighttime Eerie Evening Tours of Enchanted Palace, highlighting mysterious sights and sounds within the palace's State Rooms, as referenced in the warders' log book over the centuries.
See also
- Kensington GardensKensington GardensKensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, is one of the Royal Parks of London, lying immediately to the west of Hyde Park. It is shared between the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The park covers an area of 111 hectares .The open spaces...
- Kensington Palace GardensKensington Palace GardensKensington Palace Gardens is a street in west central London which contains some of the grandest and most expensive houses in the world. It was the location of the London Cage, the British government MI9 centre used during the Second World War and the Cold War.A tree-lined avenue half a mile long...
- List of Baroque residences