Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace is a residence of the British Royal Family situated next to Hyde Park in London’s Kensington and Chelsea districts. It is now the home of Prince William, Duchess Kate and their children. In the 17th century,

King William III rebuilt it according to a design by the architect Sir Christopher Wren as a country residence from an older Nottingham House (Kensington was not part of London at the time). Even though it was later rebuilt several times, it retained its village character to this day. The facade is made of red brick, the driveway is spilled with small pebbles, and there is a carefully landscaped garden around with a greenhouse, which today serves as a café. In the 20th century, less important members of the Royal Family lived in there. Its importance grew only after Prince Charles and his wife Diana chose it as their official residence. Diana, Princess of Wales had lived there until her death in 1997. The palace has been recently renovated for £ 12 million and some rooms were open to the public. One can see the King’s, the Queen’s chambers, so called State Apartments, the King’s Staircase and galleries there. The palace also features an exhibition of dresses from the collections of Queen Elizabeth II, her sister Margaret, and Diana, Princes of Wales. The tour also includes an exhibition mapping Queen Victoria’s private life and various other temporary exhibitions.