Kensington Palace
“Since it has pleased Providence to place me in this station, I shall do my utmost to fulfil my duty towards my country; I am very young and perhaps in many, though not in all things, inexperienced, but I am sure that very few have more real good will and more real desire to do what is fit and right than I have.”
Saturday, January 7
Kensington Palace has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is currently the official London residence of the William and Kate, Prince and Princess of Wales, and their children.
There are three parts of the Palace that are open for the public to explore. The Queen's State Apartments belonged to Mary II, who ruled jointly with her German husband William III. William and Mary did not have children and neither did Mary’s sister Anne, so after Anne died, the country had to seek out a distant German cousin to rule—George I. George I designed the King’s State Apartments and his son—George II and his wife Caroline—completed the work. The third section is the rooms where Queen Victoria was born and raised.
Queen’s State Apartments
British Royalty is not necessarily known for their close relationships (especially these days), but I think it’s significant that both William III and Mary II, and Victoria and Albert, were deeply in love with one another. Above you can see the beautifully intertwined monogram W & M that Mary had engraved into the cornice in the Queen’s Drawing Room.
On display just outside the Queen’s Apartment was a copy of the final photograph taken of Queen Elizabeth II while at Balmoral.
King’s State Apartments
The King’s State Apartments belonged to George II and his wife Queen Caroline.
The King’s Grand Staircase is the first link to the circuit of rooms making up the King's State Apartments. You could take an hour just to explore this stairway alone.
The amazing paintings along the stairway.
Curtsy at the throne in the Presence Room.
The Queen decorated much of the Palace. Caroline was a great lover of the arts and sciences. She met and was so impressed by Issac Newton that she had his bust added to the Privy Chamber.
The spectacular ceiling in the Privy Chamber, depicting Mars, the Roman God of War, and Minerva, the Goddess of Wisdom.
The Cupola Room is the most splendidly decorated room in the palace.
The Temple of the Four Grand Monarchies is an exquisitely decorated clock with a hand-painted clockface, silver reliefs, and bronzes representing the Four Grand Monarchies (Assyrian, Persian, Grecian, and Roman). The clock originally played music by George Handel, Arcangelo Corelli, and Francesco Geminiani.
I can hardly do justice in attempting to describe the stunning detail and geometry of the ceiling.
The huge star of the Order of the Garter, the oldest English order of chivalry, was placed in the center of the ceiling to send the message that even though he was German, King George I was the rightful British monarch.
The ceiling in the King’s Drawing Room took inspiration from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. In the central panel, Jupiter, King of the Olympian gods, appears to his lover Semele. The imagery of grapes, wine, and vine leaves that surround them reference the room’s function as a space for lavish entertainment.
Young Victoria
For anyone who watched Victoria on Masterpiece, the third and final portion of the tour was the highlight. It begins in the Jewel Room.
The Jewel Room displays an incredible suite of jewelry, including specially commissioned gems for Queen Victoria.
Princess Louise's Diamond Necklace Tiara (c. 1890)—This tiara was a wedding gift to Queen Victoria's granddaughter Princess Louise from her parents, Bertie and Alexandra, Prince and Princess of Wales. The design was inspired by traditional Russian costume. Family ties between British and Russian Royals meant the style became popular in Europe in the 19th century. Its clever construction means it can also be worn as a necklace.
The Fife Diamond Tiara (1887)—Princess Louise, Queen Victoria's granddaughter, was given this tiara on her wedding day by her husband, the Duke of Fife. Designed by popular Parisian jeweler Oscar Massin, the pear shaped diamonds are “swing-set” allowing them to move and catch the light when the tiara is worn.
Queen Victoria's Emerald Necklace, Earrings, and Brooch (1843)—Prince Albert designed this matching set of jewels, called a parure, for Victoria. The Queen wore the set to a banquet at Trinity College Cambridge to celebrate her husband's appointment as chancellor. Victoria noted other occasions on which she wore this set including to Prince Alfred's christening, when she paired them with the lace from her wedding dress.
Queen Victoria's Emerald Tiara (1845). Prince Albert worked closely with the Queen's Jeweler, Joseph Kitching, to design a tiara that would complement Victoria's emerald and diamond parure.
“I was ‘coiffée’ before dinner, with a lovely Diadem of diamonds & emeralds, designed by my beloved Albert, who has such wonderful taste.”
Because Victoria loved to build and play with dolls and dollhouses, a replica Kensington dollhouse was used to show Victoria’s early life at the Palace.
Vincenzo Bellini’s opera I Puritani (The Puritans) debuted in Paris in 1835 and came to London later that same year, where the young Queen attended several performances. The opera she called “Dear Puritani” became a life-long favorite, perhaps because it was the first she attended with her husband-to-be, the young Prince Albert. The stage above represents the plays Victoria put on as a child.
The Ball Room was where Victoria and Albert were first introduced and danced.
“He is extremely handsome; his hair is about the same colour as mine; his eyes are large & blue & he has a beautiful nose & a very sweet mouth with fine teeth.”
At 6 a.m. on June 20, 1837, an 18-year-old Victoria was roused from her sleep and told that her 71-year-old uncle, King William IV, had died during the early morning hours of an apparent heart attack. Victoria was now—quite suddenly—Queen of England.
The final room on the tour was the Red Saloon, where Victoria made her first public appearance as Queen. Despite being physically tiny (4-11), her confident manner made a great impression on the men gathered at the Accession Council meeting. As the Duke of Wellington described, “She not only filled her chair, she filled the room.”
Just outside the Red Saloon, are the portraits of Victoria and Albert.
Amanda is at the top of the stairs where Victoria stood when she saw Albert for the first time.
Albert sees Victoria for the first time from the bottom of these stairs.
When Victoria took the throne, few would ever have guessed that the inexperienced, diminutive royal would rule for as long as she did—63 years and 216 days, to be exact. She remained Britain’s longest-reigning monarch before her great-great-granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, served for 70 years.
A truly glorious backdrop as we view the Princess Diana Memorial Garden with the Statue of Diana, Princess of Wales.
In the statue, Diana is surrounded by three children who, according to Kensington Palace, together represent the universality and generational impact of the princess' work. Diana was renowned for her philanthropy, having been a patron to more than 100 charities during her lifetime.
My Amanda, Queen of Paso Robles, with the Round Pond in the background and her new tote bag.
Outside Kensington Palace and the Queen Victoria statue.
As best I can recall, The Hurting is the first album (actually cassette tape) I ever owned. I was obsessed with its moody tone, powerful lyrics, and intricate musical sounds. Although the album cover is now the one in all white with a small, seated child—the version shown above was the original. As it turns out, Roland and Curt were photographed at the Round Pond just outside Kensington Palace.
It was incredible to stand where the amazing duo posed for the album cover, which was released nearly 40 years ago on March 7, 1983!
On our way out of the Kensington Gardens, we stopped by the Peter Pan statue. It’s really amazing with the detailed figures shown all around the base. Peter Pan creator and local resident JM Barrie was inspired by Kensington Gardens. He commissioned Sir George Frampton to build the statue which has been a favourite feature of the gardens since 1912.
