Kensington Palace

Royal Residence acquired by William III (William of Orange) and Mary II in 1689.

Kensington Palace, originally a private country house known as Nottingham House, was acquired by William III and his wife Mary II from their Secretary of State, the Earl of Nottingham in 1689 for £20,000. The building was then adapted for royal residence by Christopher Wren who extended the Jacobean house and (re)constructed a new entrance and courtyard, the Royal Apartments for the royal couple, the Grand Staircase, a council chamber and the Chapel Royal. A private road was also built from the Palace to Hyde Park Corner. Kensington was initially intended as a private retreat by William and Mary, and the domestic character of the building was underlined by the fact that it was always referred to as Kensington House, and not as Kensington Palace. Kensington principally served as a winter residence.

For the next 70 years, the palace hosted not only the court of William and Mary, but also the courts of Anne I, George I and George II. It is also the birthplace of the later Queen Victoria. During the reign of Queen Anne, a number of alterations to the gardens and palace grounds were effected, the most famous of which is the building of the Orangery in 1704 / 05. Under George I, the core of the old Nottingham House was reconstructed (probably by Colen Campbell). In that period, many decorative paintings were added to the ceilings of the reconstructed Palace, most of them by William Kent. However, after the death of George II in October 1760 Kensington Palace never again served as the seat of a reigning monarch. Although the private apartments continued to be used by members of the Royal Family throughout the 19th century, the State Apartments were neglected and used chiefly as stores for paintings and furniture from other palaces. By the end of the century, the building was seriously dilapidated. In April 1897, Parliament decided to pay for the restoration of the State Apartments on condition that they should be open to the public. This opening took place on 24 May 1899, Queen Victoria’s 80th birthday. From 1912-1914, the Palace also accommodated the London Museum. The Palace was severely damaged in WW2 and not reopened until 1949.

Today, Kensington palace is managed by the independent charity Historic Royal Palaces. Some parts of the Palace (the State Apartments and the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection) are open to the public, others remain a private residence for members of the Royal Family. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent reside at the palace. Until their deaths, Princess Margaret (Queen Elizabeth’s sister) and Diana, Princess of Wales also lived at Kensington Palace.

Sources

• Murphy, Clare (ed.). Kensington Palace. The Official Guidebook. Historic Royal Palaces, 2007.
• http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/
• http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalResidences/KensingtonPalace/KensingtonPalace.aspx