London Weekend Break

Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace has an entry charge of around twelve pounds and is one of the traditional royal residences of England.

It is currently the official home to various members of the royal entourage including the Duke and Duchess of Kent and it is divided into a number of royal apartments. It was first opened to the public in 2005.

Kensington Palace was originally built as a home for the earl of Nottingham in the seventeenth century, but it soon became the London residence of King William III. It remained a royal residence from that point onwards and also had special access roads built to connect it to Hyde Park.

In addition to the palace building there is also an Orangery (a large glass house of sorts) and landscaped gardens designed by Henry Wise that extend over thirty acres. These gardens are amongst the best in Britain.

Throughout the building’s history it has seen alterations and refurbishments, many at the bequest of Kings and Queens and the pavilions at the buildings extremities were designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

More recently (1981) Kensington Palace became the official residence of Prince Charles and Princess Diana and, after this marriage dissolved, it remained the official home of Diana, Princess of Wales. This was still the case at the time of her death.

Other recent notables who had an “apartment” in Kensington Palace were the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon.

Public access

Since the 1981 commencement of public access and tours, the palace has hosted exhibitions including those of royal dress and of course memorabilia related to Princess Diana. At present (2007) there is a display called Diana, Princess of Wales that includes photographs and dresses worn by the Princess.

Special exhibitions are usually included in the standard entry price for Kensington Palace.

The nearest tube stations are High Street Kensington and Queensway.