Kensington Palace
About Kensington Palace
The feminine influence of generations of royal women has shaped this stylish palace and elegant gardens. The palace first became a royal residence for William III and Mary II in 1689. The magnificent State Apartments showcase some of the most breath taking examples of the architect and painter William Kent’s work. This sumptuous series of rooms include the Cupola Room where Princess Victoria was christened.
The palace is home to an exquisite collection of English court dress, a unique archive of royal fashion from the 18th century to the present day and includes Diana, Fashion and Style an exhibition exploring the impact on fashion and shift in style from a demure young princess to that of an international celebrity – glamorous and elegant, featuring several of the couture dresses worn by Diana, Princess of Wales.
A special exhibition, The Last Debutantes, included in admission until June 2009, draws visitors into the world of the debutante and the bewildering rules of etiquette and the dizzying schedule of presentations, cocktail parties and dances.
Please note, the email address below is for corporate hospitality enquiries.
| Opening Times | 1 March-31 October: (Daily: 10.00-18.00 ) Last admission 17.00 Closed: 24-26 Dec. |
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Kensington Palace Address
| Address: |
Kensington Gardens, London
London
W8 4PX
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| Telephone: | 0844 4827777 |
| Fax: | +44 (0)20 7376 0198 |
| Email: | events@hrp.org.uk |
| Website: | http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/ |
Location Information for Kensington Palace
| Address: |
Kensington Gardens, London
London
W8 4PX
|
|---|---|
| Telephone: | 0844 4827777 |
| Fax: | +44 (0)20 7376 0198 |
| Email: | events@hrp.org.uk |
| Website: | http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/ |
| Public transport: | High Street Kensington - Turn right out of station. Entrance to the park is signposted. |
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Reviews of Kensington Palace
Visit London review of Kensington Palace
Traveller Rating:
Based on 14 reviews
Latest 5 reviews of Kensington Palace
A Step Back In Time
A wonderful tour .The Diana dresses and Debutantes exhibition are superb!.You are transported back to the days when girls WERE girls!no LADETTES here!It is well laid out and gives a real feel to bygone days.The state rooms are also a joy to see as they are included in the admission.A really good day out for the whole family.
1 June 2009
Interesting and good ceilings!
We visited KP last weekend and we have very mixed feelings about this place. The staff were very strange! The bag searching woman was very loud and although cheery a bit OTT! We started off with the audio guide but went back to the first room to take part in the Queen Victoria tour. I felt a bit sorry for the tour guide as he seemed to be at times drowned out as it was really busy and the tour consisted of walking through many rooms which was a bit of a chore! Unfortunately, the space as a whole is very badly thought out as it's hard to go back to the start for the tour! Still, I quite like the different elements of the palace and the audio guide was good. And there are some fabulous ceilings! I am not sure how I would have felt if we had had to pay full price as we are members!
28 May 2009
If you have time...
If you have some time, drop by Kensington Palace. I wasn't overwhelmed by it the way I was with Buckingham, but that's to be expected considering this was originally intended to be a private getaway for the royal family and not a big showpiece palace. The interior is rather underwhelming, but the outside is beautiful, the gardens are amazing and the Diana dress/photo exhibit is an enjoyable sight.
6 April 2009
A bit of a letdown
I expected a little more from Kensington Palace. The outside is rather drab. We took the tour, which I believe was 12 pounds (a little overpriced). The first couple of rooms you get to see on the tour are quite interesting. They're about the day-to-day lives of the people that lived there, including costumes, and fabrics and tools used by tailors. Shortly after the tour goes to the Debutante area, which is all about Princess Diana. It has a nice collection of her dresses, but is otherwise presented in the cheap manor that a local museum in a small town would use (posters and a few videos).
The last part of the tour is the state rooms, which are beautiful, and the only saving grace of Kensington. Tapestries, architecture, antiques, paintings, and a nice bit of history provided by the audio tour.
I can't really recommend it unless you have a lot of time, or won't be seeing the inside of one of the better places, like Windsor Castle, in which case the state rooms will dazzle you.
26 November 2008
Must visit if you are a Diana fan
I visited Kensington Palace as I am a Diana fan. Overall I found it very interesting visiting the place where she lived for 10 years even though you are not allowed into the area where she lived as it house the queens relatives and staff now. Princess Margaret’s apartments had a display going about the debutante life in the ‘50s. I found it more interesting imagining what it would have been like living in there if it had been my apartment in the middle of London. It's kinda strange as a lot of the windows are obscured by blinds or window coverings so you can't go out and the numerous attendants around the palace get very upset if you try to look through the blinds. So you are going through rooms where you can't see out to the outside.
I had read Diana’s butler, Paul Burrell’s book “The way we were: remembering Diana” about life with Diana. He said it was a pity that they stripped out her apartment of the furniture etc as there are many people who would have been interested in going through it to see where she lived. He also gave a good insight with photos of her apartment furnished.
I bought the guide book which gives interesting background on the history of the palace and you can go through the state apartments on one side where the royal families have lived from about 1650 until late 1800’s. There are a few dresses of Diana’s on view, not many though, only about 8.
Overall an ok tour but would’ve been better if you could go through where Diana had lived.
18 June 2008
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Events at Kensington Palace
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British Sign Language Tours
Guided walk23 Jul 2009 to 10 Dec 2009
A BSL guide to interpret a specific guided tour of the palace.
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Diana, Fashion and Style
Exhibition1 Mar 2009 to 31 Dec 2009
This new exhibition at Kensington Palace focuses on the development of the Princesss style from the romantic ruffles of the early 1980s to the sophisticated silhouette of the mid 1990s. The dresses include an early evening dress by Donald Campbell from 1983 and a little black dress from 1995 by Gianni Versace. Many of the dresses on display were designed by Dianas favourite couturier, Catherine Walker.
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The Last Debutantes
ExhibitionRecurring event
This exhibition captures the spirit of a world in transition. As new ideas about class and privilege were raised through the mass media, the debutantes days were numbered. Against a mix of ceremony and pop culture, the exhibition illustrates the elegance, social change and teenage culture that set the scene in Britain during the summer of 1958: the year of the last debutantes.
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Room Describers Tours
Guided walk3 Jul 2009 to 4 Dec 2009
Tours that include the historic state apartments and the opportunity to handle objects in the collection. Tours are suitable for a maximum of three blind or partially sighted visitors and their carers and must be pre-booked.
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