Kensington Palace, London, Ghid vizitatori și ce de văzut în apropiere

Kensington Palace is a royal residence on the western edge of Kensington Gardens in London, and it has been home to members of the royal family since 1689. It is best known for its links to Queen Victoria, who was born here, and to Princess Diana, whose life and loss are tied to the palace gates.

The story behind it

King William III bought the house, then owned by the Earl of Nottingham, in 1689. He chose it because the air in Kensington was kinder to his asthma than the damp of Whitehall. The house was turned into a palace, but it soon saw grief. Queen Mary II died here of smallpox in 1694, aged thirty-two, and William was devastated. He died in 1702 after his horse stumbled on a molehill at Hampton Court, and the fall led to fatal pneumonia. Jacobite supporters are said to have toasted the mole as "the little gentleman in the black velvet waistcoat". Queen Anne, who followed him, died at Kensington Palace in 1714 after years of ill health and a long series of lost pregnancies and infant deaths.

In the nineteenth century Victoria was born here, in 1819, and she was living at the palace when she became queen. In the modern era the palace is most associated with Diana, Princess of Wales, who lived here after her marriage in 1981. After her death in 1997, mourners covered the gates with flowers, candles and handwritten messages. The Sunken Garden nearby was replanted in 2017 as a tribute to her.

What to look for

• The red brick exterior, which still looks like a large country house rather than a grand palace, a reminder of its origins as Nottingham House.
• The statue of Queen Victoria outside the palace, sculpted by her daughter Princess Louise.
• The palace gates, where the tributes to Diana were left in 1997, and where visitors still stop to pause.
• The Sunken Garden close to the palace, a quiet, formal corner that rewards a slow look.

Tips for your visit

• Allow about 20 minutes for the outside and the gardens, and a good deal longer if you go into the state rooms. Check current opening hours and ticket details before you go.
• Go in the morning or on a weekday if you want the gates and gardens at their calmest.
• Kensington Gardens surrounds the palace, so you can combine it with a walk to the Round Pond or the Peter Pan statue.
• Hyde Park, the Albert Memorial and Kensington High Street are all within walking distance, so it fits easily into a longer day on foot.

See it on a quest

The palace is one stop on Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Kensington, London, a self-guided walk with a murder mystery theme. You reach the palace on foot as part of a longer route through Kensington, the app tells you about the place when you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. There is no guide and no group to join, so you can start whenever suits you. One ticket covers the whole group.