Tuesday, June -3-15
We had the good fortune of our flat being a mere 20 minutes walking distance from Kensington Palace. Yep, that's right, William and Kate were practically our neighbors, or rather, would have been, had they not recently moved from KP in favor of new digs of their own north of London. Still, KP has been the home of (among others who date way back) Charles and Diana, and their sons William and Harry (Harry supposedly lives nearby on the property in a "cottage", which I'm sure isn't a cottage as we are like to think!), Sarah Ferguson, Queen Victoria, her Prince Albert and her many children.
I really liked the architecture of Kensingtion; it's homey and inviting and a tad more "modern" in appearance than other royal palaces. The grounds are beautifully maintained with gardens, an orangery, hedge maze and a sunken garden. (And that's just the east side, where the tourists are allowed.) Kensington Palace also sits at the far end of Hyde Park, a lovely place to stroll, sit with a book or just reflect in the English sun as you hang out by the palace. There's a peaceful feel to Kensington, and even though the tour isn't as grand as at the other palaces', it's still a lovely experience to visit.
The most difficult part of our day was finding the gate that actually let you in to the palace. It's not that it's hidden, it's just not marked. We weren't the only tourists walking aimlessly around the building, but once 10am came around, the ticket takers appeared and we were in! (For those of you going, it's on the East side of the building.)
The tour is divided into four sections..the King's State Apartments, The Queen's State Apartments, Victoria Revealed and finally, "The Royal Moderns" which frankly contained only two to three small rooms with cases of the dresses that
Queen Elizabeth I, her sister, Margaret and Princess Diana wore. Still, I
was thrilled to see Diana's dresses especially. Now, I knew she was
tall and thin, but I never realized how thin she was until I saw the
size of those dresses. I think you can see for yourself in the pics, but
I was shocked at how tiny in girth she actually was.
Pictures are below:
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| We've Arrived! |
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| Matt and I in front of the gate that saw the tribute to Princess Diana many years ago. |
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| We found the visitors' entrance! |
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| Palace Gift Shop which we will return to in a few days. |
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| Old time piano inside Queen's State Rooms |
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| At least the wearer of this dress always has a place to set her drink! |
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| Table and Chairs in Queen Sate Rooms |
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| View of gardens from Queen's Rooms. |
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| Queen Anne's writing desk. |
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| Queen's Gallery where she'd walk for exercise. |
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| Queen Anne's Bed where she gave birth to the next heir. |
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| Gambling Tables in King's State Rooms |
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| Ditto |
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| Queen Victoria's Dominoes |
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| Diana's Actual Dresses |
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| Ditto |
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| Another |
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| Another |
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| Maze Garden on East Side of the Palace |
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| Ditto |
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| Aren't these A-MAZE-ING? |
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| View looking out the entrance |
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| The Sunken Garden |
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| Ditto |
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| Ditto |
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| Ditto |
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| Ditto |
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| Arched walkway around Sunken Garden |
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| Statue of Queen Victoria |
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| Bye, bye Kensington! |
Stay tuned for the next blog, when we continue on with more activities from today, including visiting Diana's Memorial Pool!
