Kensington Palace

When we booked our tour of Kensington Palace, I had dreams of running into Wills & Kate & them being so smitten with my awesome American-ness that they invited me in for a cup of tea, where I’d sip it properly with my pinky finger sticking out, while bouncing George on my knee.

Sadly, none of those things happened to us & they probably won’t happen to you, but that doesn’t mean you should skip out on touring this gorgeous royal palace. Our tour was provided compliments of my friends at Viator. They actually no longer offer the tour we took, but offer a similar one. Having a knowledgable guide is really what made the palace so special – you can tour on your own, but a lot of the history & interesting anecdotes would be lost, as their is minimal signage throughout the building (there is a paper brochure handed out with tickets, though).

We approached the palace from the south side of the original building (i.e. not where Wills & Kate live). Our guide, Alex (an art history student), told our small group about the history of Kensington Palace & Kensington Gardens. The public park actually used to be all part of the royal property, creating quite the sprawling estate. The now famous black & gold gate where mourners came to leave flowers after Princess Diana died – in some places the pile of flowers was five feet high & stretched almost 15 feet down the path.

Kensington Palace has been a royal residence since 1689 when William III & Mary II moved in after ditching Whitehall Palace, claiming it was too close to the River Thames & aggravated William’s asthma (Kensington’s position in the city means there’s usually a lovely breeze). An expansion of the palace soon followed & the elegant Kings and & Queens Apartments is what guests visit today.

Some of the most interesting parts of the tour included the extensive displays on Queen Victoria’s life, especially her mourning period following the death of her beloved Albert. I don’t think I truly understand the immense impact Queen Victoria made on the entire UK – or the impact of her husband’s death on the entire kingdom – until visiting the exhibit.

Throughout our tour, Alex also pointed out interesting tidbits about the design of the building. For instance, the staircase in the Queen’s Apartment is especially shallow at the request of Queen Anne. The shallowness of each step would give the illusion of her practically floating down the stairs as she descended. After touring the Queen’s Apartment, we toured the King’s, which is decidedly more grand & masculine. A regal staircase leads up to the lavish entertainment quarters, largely thanks to the opulence preferred by King George I.

While most of Kensington Gardens has now become a public park, the beautifully restored Royal Gardens are still on display close to the property. The sunken gardens looked serene, even in the impending winter weather, & an afternoon tea is now served in the Orangery.

We enjoyed seeing so many Londoners out enjoying the beautiful Sunday morning as we walked through Kensington Gardens & Hyde Park. Especially poignant was the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, located just south of the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park. As we walked around the fountain, Alex explained how it was designed to mimic Diana’s life: the water is calm & free flowing in some areas & rough & turbulent in others. Because of the fountain’s relatively low profile, it’s easily accessible for children to play in during the warmer summer months.

We walked along the Serpentine Lake to the end where there is a boat house with a cafe & row boats. If you’re an art fan, the Serpentine Gallery has a rotating collecting of interesting art collections.We walked through Hyde Park a few times during our stay & enjoyed exploring the park, especially after learning about the area’s interesting history as home to royalty.

Our visit to Kensington Palace was one of the highlights of our trip & was made even more educational through our guide. It was a great look into the life of British royalty & even though I didn’t get to shop along Kensington’s High Street with Kate, it was still a jolly good time.

Note: Our tour of Kensington Palace & the Gardens was provided compliments of Viator. All opinions are my own – I really do encourage you to hire a guide for your tour, especially if you’re a historical nerd like I am. Shop around for a tour – most tour prices were only slightly higher than buying tickets at the box office.