Kensington Palace

[happy_27]

Hi

Does anyone have any pictures of the private apartments of Kensington Palace. I've seen pictures of the State Rooms, but not many of the Private residences of the royal family, the many courtyards and rooftop gardens. Can anyone help?

Thanks

[sara1981]

you know i went Kensington Palace last November 2002 where Princess Diana's former home if you have shown picture of her house its so huge! i went there have include Diana's dress display and lots more! but i cant enter Diana's private home you know that.

Sara Boyce

[james]

I visited Kensington Palace on 28/8/04 and it was amazing. The State apartments are very beautiful but it was Princess Margaret's private apartment which I found most fascinating. When I read that many of her rooms had been opened since her death I imagined that the apartment wouldn't resemble her home at all but would just look like a kind of museum. Goodness was I wrong. I am sure that, like myself, most people who read this thread will have lots of books on the Royal Family which show pictures of them posing in their various homes. I had seen many pictures of Margaret in her black and white paved hallway; her blue drawing room and Garden room which looks out onto her private garden with wrought iron terrace. The visitor gets to walk through all of these rooms as well as Lord Snowdon's old study and the guest bedroom (Though I should point out that one only sees the drawing room through a hole in the study wall where a cine camera used to project films onto the drawing room wall). Most of the furniture has been removed but the curtains and some original mirrors and pictures still hang on the walls. Each room has photos of the Princess posing in it and my friends and I had great fun standing on the very spots where the Princess was standing in the pictures. The apartment also directly faces Princess Michael's and Diana's apartments and their two shiny black front doors, which sit side by side, are only yards across the courtyard. Obviously in the past this area could not be viewed by the public but access to the Princess' house brings one into the heart of this previously out of bounds part of the Palace. Whilst enjoying the experience however I found the absolute absence of security disconcerting. Our bags were not checked; there were no metal detectors and not one curator or security person was present in any of the rooms. At one point I slowly opened a window ( much to the horror of my friend who thought that alarms were going to go off right, left and centre) and not a thing happened. I was within pea-shooting distance of both Princess Michael's front door and the Gloucecter house, although that was at a more awkward angle, without so much as a pane of glass between us. They may not be senior Royals but what a disaster and embarassment if any of them were harmed due to this new exposure. But that is another issue. I cannot recommend visiting the Palace highly enough before the Princess' house is changed beyond recognition. Although, according to the lady who completed a questionaire with me when leaving, it has not yet been decided what to do with the apartment. She informed us that they are thinking of restoring the original furniture to show the house as it looked in it's heyday in the 1960's. Needless to say I ticked this box as something I would love to see and maybe, with a bit of luck, I'll also find myself in Diana's house some day.

[sara1981]

i agree with you!
but i cant enter Diana's apartment because many people wont wanted see her stuff like that its really private apartment i respect Diana but i never been enter her house before but i went her house thru by display her famous dresses.

Sara Boyce

[Marengo]

Does anybody know which royals at the moment have appartments at Kensington Palace? Only the Gloucesters and the Kents perhaps?

[Warren]

Kensington Palace is the official residence of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince, and Princess Michael of Kent.

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by Warren

Kensington Palace is the official residence of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince, and Princess Michael of Kent.

But the Duke and Duchess of Kent live in Wren House which is a separate Building on th ground of Kensington Palace.

[Carminha Stalker]

I´ve only seen Kensington Palace from the outside, because when I was sightseeing through London, it was many years ago, Princess Margaret was still alive and Diana was unknown to all.

[QUEENECE29]

Diana's beautiful home
http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:...ton-palace.jpg

I was visit four years ago.

Kensington Palace in London is a working Royal residence. Of great historical importance, Kensington Palace was the favourite residence of successive sovereigns until 1760. It was also the birthplace and childhood home of Queen Victoria. Today Kensington Palace accommodates the offices and private apartments of a number of members of the Royal Family. Although managed by Historic Royal Palaces, the Palace is furnished with items from the Royal Collection.

Today Kensington contains the offices and London residences of The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Princess Margaret, Diana, Princess of Wales and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester used to live in Kensington Palace and have their offices there.
Kensington Palace are open to the public. Kensington Palace is also home to the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, with items of Royal, ceremonial and court dress dating from the 18th century to the present day.

[muriel]

Does anybody think William or Harry could end up living at KP when they "leave home"?

[CasiraghiTrio]

^It's hard to know from my perspective. Maybe they would resist being put up at the "royal ghetto" because of the memories. On the other hand, maybe the happy memories outweigh the bad ones and they might like the idea. Who knows?

[CasiraghiTrio]

Originally Posted by Stefan

But the Duke and Duchess of Kent live in Wren House which is a separate Building on th ground of Kensington Palace.

This is what I have come to understand about the arrangements:

I think all of the royal apartments are independent structures in the KP compound.

Princess Margaret was in 1A.

The Duke & Duchess of Gloucester were in the biggest one, so says the very unreliable Lady Colin Campbell, with something like 11 bedrooms. I don't know the # though. However, someone I know who was an equerry in their service (very briefly in the late 90s) said Lady Colin's claim here was wrong. He said actually the Gloucesters' apartment was quite small and had nothing like 11 bedrooms. He lived there in a cubbyhole with a dot on the wall for a window, but through which you had a somewhat obstructed but fairly decent view of Princess Margaret's garden.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent live in # 10.
*Morton, Andrew: Diana Her True Story
*Campbell, Lady Colin (forgot the title, something like "The Private Diana", or "her private life", whatever)

Charles & Diana had the adjoined 7& 8 in the 80s.
It shares a courtyard with #10.
*Source: Morton, Andrew: Diana Her True Story

Diana lived in #7 in the last year or so of her life, presumably after the divorce.
*Source: Morton, Andrew: Diana Her New Life

Lord & Lady Fellowes were in "The Old Barracks" but I wonder if they still have this grace & flavor residence. I don't know.
*Morton, "true story"

[muriel]

The real question is whether they will be able to find suitable accoodation elsewhere - either at St James' or BP, and that might determne the outcome. In some ways, it may just be simpler for them to move back to what was their childhood home!

[CasiraghiTrio]

Originally Posted by muriel

The real question is whether they will be able to find suitable accoodation elsewhere - either at St James' or BP, and that might determne the outcome. In some ways, it may just be simpler for them to move back to what was their childhood home!

Yeah, maybe they would like to revisit the experience of chasing Princess Michael's cats away from their hamsters!! Seriously though, I think it was in Ingrid Seward's fluffy account of the "royal children" that I read the sad story of when Princess M's cat swallowed one of the princes' hamsters.

[Jo of Palatine]

Originally Posted by muriel

Does anybody think William or Harry could end up living at KP when they "leave home"?

I think that the apartment Charles and Diana took over after their marriage was just a temporary solution - surely they thought they would take over Clarence House once Queen Mum was not longer alive. Who would have thought that Queen Mum would live so long? Odds were against it, IMHO. That's why they took these rather dark rooms to the north side of KP, IMHO.


I don't know much about the grace&favour-homes the queen has at her disposal but I read that due to public critizism, she has reduced her offers, so quite some must be vacated by their former inhabitants due to them getting older and older by now without having been offered to others. So there could be a quite a selection - I guess Beatrice took one of those as well.

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by muriel

Does anybody think William or Harry could end up living at KP when they "leave home"?

Don't think so. I heard it's the Intention of the Government and the Queen to make the entire KP a Museum in the not to distant future. Probably these is also the reason the Appartement of Princess Margaret and Princess Diana are now vacant.

[magnik]

Probably you know it:

Welcome to Kensington Palace

Flickr: Search

Category:Kensington Palace - Wikimedia Commons

[muriel]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Don't think so. I heard it's the Intention of the Government and the Queen to make the entire KP a Museum in the not to distant future. Probably these is also the reason the Appartement of Princess Margaret and Princess Diana are now vacant.

A few years ago I had also read of the plan to eventually vacate KP, and for it to be "returned" to the government. However, I was a little surprised when I had read that Prince Michael of Kent ws now going to pay an increased rent on their flat at KP - indicating that it was likely to be used as a royal residence for longer..... or at least until the current generation of Kents and Gloucesters are alive.

[muriel]

Originally Posted by Jo of Palatine

I think that the apartment Charles and Diana took over after their marriage was just a temporary solution - surely they thought they would take over Clarence House once Queen Mum was not longer alive. Who would have thought that Queen Mum would live so long? Odds were against it, IMHO. That's why they took these rather dark rooms to the north side of KP, IMHO.

I guess a similarly "temperory" arrangement could be made for Prince William and his wife when the time comes. His grand mother is already in her 80s, so in the medium term, there is a prospect of a place of residence on the Mall coming up.

[CasiraghiTrio]

^ What about Marlborough House? Is that used for something? It is a huge palace and therefore could likely accommodate Will's marital household. And it is in walking distance of St James and BP. The location is convenient and he and his wife wouldn't have to be tossed into the KP ghetto.