We missed visiting Kensington Palace during our first England Trip as we couldn’t spend too much time in London. However, the next time we were there, I was delighted to have been invited for a Press Trip by Historic Royal Palaces. Being a history buff, I love exploring palaces and I can find happiness in the smallest of antiques. Having visited Buckingham Palace during our first trip, I wanted to visit Kensington Palace where Queen Victoria was born and had spent her childhood days.
How to visit Kensington Palace
We took the underground tube from central London and quite conveniently reached Queensway tube station which is just opposite the Kensington Palace gardens. The first look of the gardens is really impressive like a green oasis in the middle of a busy city. It was getting a bit cloudy and with the beautiful breeze on our face, we bid the traffic and noise goodbye at the gates.
As we were walking towards the palace, I was awed by how perfect the landscaping of the garden was. We stopped by a pond with ducks and geese as my son loves watching birds. I made a mental note to come back and visit Kensington Palace and the gardens again to explore the rest some other time.
As I turned away from the pond, I realized we had reached the Kensington Palace gates. The marble statue of Queen Victoria, dressed in coronation robes welcomed us. It was getting windy by now and we rushed inside. There was a security queue and once you clear that you enter a hallway to the main hall with different boards pointing to various sections of this grand palace.
This room had the pink evening gown that I was able to immediately recollect from Diana’s pictures. Princess Diana had an apartment in Kensington Palace while she was married to Prince Charles. You may also remember the sea of bouquets that were offered at the gates of this palace, by the people mourning, when she died in the tragic accident.
Currently many from the royal family including Prince William, Kate and their kids live in the Kensington Palace. But even though only a part of the palace has been converted into a museum and exhibition open to the public, there are a lot of staterooms to explore. So if you want to visit Kensington Palace with kids and family, plan for the whole day as there is something for everyone.
King’s Apartment
We started with the King’s apartment. The first thing that you will notice is the grand king’s staircase that will take you to the King’s apartment rooms. The walls are painted as the Georgian king’s court with life-size paintings of the courtiers looking out at the staircase. They look so real, I needed a reminder that I hadn’t really traveled back in time.
The series of rooms that follow next are the chambers where the king received his courtiers and nobles leading to his personal chambers. The king’s entertainment rooms are dramatic with magnificent ceilings and chandeliers.
The drawing-rooms are decorated with beautiful tapestries and paintings. In the middle of the elegant Cupola Room, is an 18th-century musical clock, the ‘Temple of the Four Great Monarchies of the World’ which has an interesting history.
Queen’s Apartment
The staircase leading to the Queen’s apartment is simpler than the King’s apartment and the rooms designed for Queen Mary II are more subtle and intimate. These series of the rooms were used by the queen to meet her friends, dine and relax. The last room is the queen’s bedroom which has a beautiful bed and speaks of the past.
Queen Victoria’s exhibitions
There were two exhibitions going on when we visited Kensington Palace celebrating Queen Victoria’s 200th birth anniversary. We took the staircase to the “Victoria: A Royal Childhood” exhibition on the first floor which shows glimpses from Victoria’s early years. The rooms where she was born and raised have many of her personal belongings.
The view from the rooms is magnificent, overlooking the gardens and the pond. It was here that young Victoria comes to know that she is the new queen on the death of her uncle. The document that she signed infront of her Privy Council taking the oath as the new queen is also on display in this exhibition.
The other exhibition, “Queen Victoria: Woman and Crown” is her journey from her youth to becoming an iconic monarch. There are many personal stories that show a more private side of her life and throw light on her role as a ruler, mother and wife. What’s interesting is that you can see how her dress choices graduated with age, through the dresses on display. After her husband’s death, she adopted a wardrobe of black colour to signify her biggest loss. There are also many stories from her time ruling India as the Empress and her complicated relationship with Maharaja Duleep Singh and her Urdu tutor Abdul.
By the time we had finished all the exhibitions, it was lunchtime. So after a quick meal at the palace cafe, we stepped out to explore the gardens. We weren’t that lucky though and got in London’s unpredictable weather. It started pouring and I just thanked my stars that we were carrying jackets and umbrellas.
We were invited to visit Kensington Palace on a Press Trip however all opinions and views are mine.
If you like gardens, read our blog about our visit to Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London.
