View of the Palace Gardens with Kensington Palace in the background
One of the most popular tourist destinations in the city of London is the beautiful Kensington Palace. Not only do you have the chance to wander around the aethetic gardens, but also the ability to roam around a palace that has been occupied with royal families for over three hundred years.
If you are planning on taking a trip to this gorgeous establishment, here is a brief history of the palace.
The palace gates of Kensington Palace: made of gold and iron in the late 17th century
In the late 1600's when William III and Mary II assumed the throne, it was customary that the royal family would reside at Whiteside Palace; however both William and Mary were not fond of the estate. In fact, William suffered from chronic asthema, so living in such a damp riverside location, such as Whiteside Palace, was bad for his health.
So in the late summer of 1689, William and Mary purchased a Jacobean Mansion that was build earlier that century (1605). The location of this estate was in Kensington and was known for having good and fresh air-- prefect for the King's health. Before Christmas of that same year, the royal court had successfully moved into the estate. Mary spent a great deal of time decorating the palace; it was said that during William's military campaign in 1690, Mary added many improvements to the mansion.
The Queen's gallery: one of the renovations to the palace Queen Mary added before her death in 1694.
Sadly, in late December of 1694, Mary died of smallpox in Kensington Palace and in February of 1702, William broke his collarbone while horseback riding. William never healed and died a few days later in Kensington Palace. The two never had any children, and so Anne, Mary's sister, took over the throne.
In 1702, the newly crown Queen Anne moved from her nearby estate into Kensington Palace. Anne did not engage in nearly as much rennovations as her sister, Mary, did; however, she was known for improving the gardens in Kensington Palace.
Queen Anne was happily married to her husband, Prince George the second son of Fedrick III of Denmark until his death in 1708. Although Anne had seventeen pregnancies, only one of her pregnacies was successful. However, her son William, only survived until the age of 11 when he passed away from smallpox.
Both Anne and George died in Kensington Palace. With no direct heir to the throne, it was vital that the successor would be protestant. Sophia, Dowager Electress of Hanover, who had the same grandfather (King James I) as Mary and Anne, would have taken the throne if she had not died two months before Anne. However, her son George Lewis became king.
The Queen's bedroom chambers. James Edward Stuart, son of King James II was throught to have been born in this bed in 1688. However, Parliament feared the birth of the catholic king's son; so they said he was imposter and the real baby was a stillborn.
In 1714, George I celebrated his succession to the throne with a lavish bonfire party in the gardens. This became an annual event on August 1st, celebrating his accession. George I was the patron of William Kent and George employed him to rennovate the palace. Because he initiated extensive and intensive rennovations to the palace, George actually spent little time at Kensington Palace during his reign.
The Queen's Gallery. However, most of the artwork and decorations in this room was rennovated by William Kent.
While George I did not like the etiquette of courtlife and preferred to stay in his own private apartments, the newly rennovated opulent staterooms would serve to play a central role during George II's reign.
The King's Gallery
Under the rule of George II, there were very few rennovations to the palace. After the death of his wife Queen Caroline, a large part of the palace became vacant. However, while Caroline was alive, she used the palace for a variety of purposes. She often invited philosophers, scientists, and poets to Kensington to exhange ideas on an array of topics.
The Cupola Room: despite their German roots, George II and Caroline stived to acclimate to the British lifestyle. Kensington was used more for social purposes rather than for offical business.
George and Caroline were patrons to the composer Handel who actually dedicated many compostions to them as well as instructed their children. For parties, Handel would bring Italian opera peformers to Kensington to perform.
Upon the sudden death of George II in 1760, the era of royal living at Kensington Palace ended. After the reign on George II, no standing ruler lived in Kensington.
Statue dedicated to Queen Victoria overlooking to Palace Gardens
In 1911, the Kensington State Apartments were given to the Museum of London for display to the public. However, in 1914, the museum moved to Lancaster House. But after intense rennovation after World War II the Museum moved back to Kensington Palace where it would reside for roughly 25 years. Part of the Palace is still open for the public to visit. Now, Kensington Palace continues its long rich history of housing some of the Royal Family. In fact, princesses still live in Princess' Court. Princess Diana lived in the north-west part of the palace from 1981-1997. There is now an exhibit of the late Princess' fashion. Since 2013, the Duke and Dutchess of Cambridge have made their home at Kensington.
Some of the dresses on display designed by Princess Diana.
