Kensington Palace

About Kensington Palace

Royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, London, England, UK

Kensington Palace is a royal residence set within Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. It has served as a residence for the British royal family since the 17th century and is today the official London residence of several royals, including the Prince and Princess of Wales and their family, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, and Princess Eugenie and her husband; "Kensington Palace" is often used as a metonym for the offices of the royals who live there. The palace is closely associated with Princess Diana, who lived here, and it is where Queen Victoria was born in 1819 and received the news of her accession. The State Rooms are open to the public and managed by Historic Royal Palaces, an independent charity that operates without public funding, while the offices and private apartments remain the responsibility of the Royal Household. The rooms display paintings and objects from the Royal Collection, notably the King's Gallery, a magnificent Regency-period court drawing room with paintings including a Van Dyck, the Queen's Apartments of Mary II, the King's Staircase with its murals, and exhibitions on Victoria's life and royal fashion, while outside lies the famous Sunken Garden with its seasonal planting and the statue of Princess Diana. In the grounds stands The Orangery, an elegant restaurant in an 18th-century glasshouse, and the palace is a favourite stop on a tour of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park.

Where:

London, United Kingdom