On a hot summers day in June the City Adventurers headed to Kensington Palace. After coffee in The Pavilion we made the short walk along the Cradle Walk, past the sunken garden to the palace itself. The Sunken Garden, created in 1908, contains the Diana statue commissioned by her sons in 2017.
Originally known as Nottingham House, Kensington Palace was purchased by King William III and Queen Mary II in 1689. They transformed it into a stylish and fashionable palace and made it their official residence. Since then Kensington Palace has been home to a number of members of the British royal family.
Our tickets allowed us into the palace and lead to the start of the “Crown to Couture” exhibition. For those of us that had not visited the palace before it was a surprise to visit exhibition at the same time as having a tour of the palace. In fact the fashion exhibition takes over the State Apartments and Piggott Galleries.
Comparing today’s red carpet events to the Georgian Royal Court in the 18th century, the exhibition features over 200 items from ball gowns to court suits and handbags to jewellery. It was amazing.
Getting around was easy. Just follow the trail. There are stairs throughout the palace but a lift is also available. Talking of stairs, a must see is the King’s Staircase. William Kent painted the walls of the King’s Staircase as a vivid recreation of George I’s court, full of intriguing and unexpected characters.
We were able to spend as long as we liked in the exhibition, admiring the clothes, studying the architecture, reading the plaques etc at our own pace. After a brief stop at the Palace Café for lunch, it was back to the second half of the palace.
First stop was the Jewel Room. This housed displays of royal jewellery and examples of red carpet accessories from the current exhibition. It includes commissioned gems for Queen Victoria by her husband Albert.
Comprising a magnificent diamond and emerald tiara, emerald necklace, earrings and brooch, this matching suite of jewels showcases both the exquisite workmanship of nineteenth century goldsmiths, and Prince Albert’s own flair for design. The collection constitutes the only known example of a tiara design by a consort for his Queen.
kensington-palace
Kensington Palace has a strong connection with Queen Victoria, who was born (in the dining room) at Kensington Palace in 1819. The palace houses a permanent exhibition exploring how the young princess grew up and blossomed into an iconic monarch and this was the next stop on our visit.
After a look around the gift shop, we exited into the beautiful Kensington Gardens for a ice-cream and a walk around the park before heading home. A fantastic day out.
The CROWN TO COUTURE exhibition is on until 29th October 2023. Tickets for Kensington Palace at available at https://www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/
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