Kensington Palace is now known as a quieter royal residence where members of the extended royal family live away from prying eyes. However, it was at the heart of both the Stuart and the Hanoverian dynasties.
A royal retreat for a king and queen
In 1605, Sir George Coppin began building a two-storey mansion in the Jacobean style in the village of Kensington where he lived with his family. For almost a century, it remained an aristocratic home. In 1689, however, the new King and Queen were looking for a country retreat and they looked to Kensington.
King William and Queen Mary were hoping to find a quieter residence, away from the hustle and bustle of London, and from its pollution. William’s health was not particularly robust and given that Kensington was a village outside London, the couple hoped the fresh air would help.
They purchased the mansion and immediately set architect Sir Christopher Wren to create an addition and update the building. Wren designed and added more pavilions, with the King’s Apartments in the south-east corner and the Queen’s Apartments in the north-west.
By the end of 1689, William and Mary’s court had officially taken up residence at Kensington.
Queen Anne also spent a great deal of her time as Queen at Kensington Palace, and left her own mark. She commissioned both the gardens and the Orangery, two areas of the grounds that remain popular to this day.
A Hanoverian home
Following the arrival of the Hanoverians, the palace once again saw changes. King George I ushered in a new reign and a new dynasty with new rooms: the Cupola Room, the Privy Chamber, and the Withdrawing Room.
George turned to William Kent for many of the paintings in the new spaces. His murals in the King’s Staircase and Cupola Room can still be enjoyed.
George’s son, King George II, also lived at Kensington. He and his wife, Queen Caroline, spent much of their time there. While they did not make any major changes like the previous monarchs, Caroline built up a significant art collection at Kensington that now belongs to the Royal Collection.
(Kensington Palace)
King George III was the first monarch to not live at Kensington Palace. He largely used it as a home for relatives including two of his sons- the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Kent and Strathearn.
A future monarch would still call Kensington Palace home, though. The future Queen Victoria, daughter of the Duke of Kent, grew up at Kensington Palace with her mother. However, she almost immediately moved to Buckingham Palace after her accession in 1837.
Now, it’s known as a home for several members of the Royal Family. The private apartments are home to the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children as well as the Duke of Kent.
The public parts of the building are looked after by Historic Royal Palaces who often run exhibitions there.
