Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace ( German: " Kensington Palace ") is a building that is used by members of the British royal family. The palace is located on the Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London.

Building and history

The redesigned by Sir Christopher Wren castle was a private land ownership and was built in 1689 by Mary II and William III. removed because they did not want to endure the humidity of Whitehall in winter. In the following 70 years the palace was more important for the social and political life of the country. In the life time of George I and George II, the property was lavishly equipped with state apartments and received an outstanding furniture and paintings. Particularly well known are mainly the elaborate ceiling decorations by William Kent. After George II died suddenly in 1760, the building became less important. To this day, never a reigning monarch lived here again.

Princess Victoria was born in 1819 at Kensington Palace. In June 1837 a historic event took place in the palace: Victoria, the former resident who awoke after the death of her uncle William IV as the new Queen of Great Britain. She then moved immediately to the Buckingham Palace.

In 1912 the palace was opened to the public for the first time. There was an exhibition of relics and other objects of the City of London, which could inspire in a single day more than 13,000 visitors. Today you can admire the exhibits at the Museum of London.

Use

Longer time inhabited only the Duke and Duchess of Kent parts of the palace, including Wren House. Early 2013 based the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Catherine ( ' Kate '), an apartment at Kensington Palace.

From 1981 until her death in 1997 resided there Diana, Princess of Wales. After an extensive renovation, a large part of the palace is open to visitors.

The main exhibition of the year at Kensington Palace is The Queen's Working Wardrobe - "The work clothes of Queen Elizabeth II, 1945-1972 ," which offers visitors an insight into the royal wardrobes. The northern front is currently being restored, so that you do not have a view of the Queen's Apartment, but can see the rooms only on established images.