21 Facts About Kensington Palace

1.

Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England.

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2.

The offices and private accommodation areas of the Kensington Palace remain the responsibility of the Royal Household and are maintained by the Royal Household Property Section.

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3.

Kensington Palace was originally a two-storey Jacobean mansion built by Sir George Coppin in 1605 in the village of Kensington.

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4.

Shortly after William and Mary assumed the throne as joint monarchs in 1689, they began searching for a residence better suited for the comfort of the asthmatic William, as Whitehall Kensington Palace was too near the River Thames, with its fog and floods, for William's fragile health.

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5.

The royal court took residence in the palace shortly before Christmas 1689, and for the next seventy years, Kensington Palace was the favoured residence of British monarchs, although the official seat of the Court was and remains at St James's Palace, which has not been the actual royal residence in London since the 17th century.

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6.

Kensington Palace's had Christopher Wren complete the extensions that William and Mary had begun, resulting in the section known as the Queen's Apartments, with the Queen's Entrance, and the plainly decorated Wren designed staircase, that featured shallow steps so that Anne could walk down gracefully.

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7.

Kensington Palace's commissioned the Hawksmoor designed Orangery, modified by John Vanbrugh, that was built for her in 1704.

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8.

Kensington Palace was the setting of the final argument between Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and Queen Anne.

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9.

Kensington Palace hired the unknown William Kent in 1722 to decorate the state rooms, which he did with elaborately painted trompe l'oeil ceilings and walls.

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10.

Kensington Palace was interested in the arts and science and amassed a huge library that filled ten rooms and comprised over fifty thousand volumes.

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11.

Kensington Palace had a large number of clocks, and a variety of singing birds that were free to fly around his apartments.

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12.

Kensington Palace was elected as president of the Royal Society and gave receptions in his apartments at Kensington Palace to men of science, but the expense they incurred induced him to resign the presidency, as he preferred to employ the money in making additions to his library.

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13.

Kensington Palace's daughter, Alexandrina Victoria, was born on 24 May 1819, and her christening conducted in the Cupola Room the following month.

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14.

Kensington Palace's frequently served as his spy on the Kensington household as well as on her two elder brothers, while Conroy squandered most of her money until she died in 1848, at Kensington Palace.

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15.

Kensington Palace's took the regnal name of Victoria and held her first privy council in the Red Saloon at the palace.

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16.

The Queen promptly moved to Buckingham Palace, but she did grant rooms in Kensington Palace to her family and retired retainers, which included the Duke and Duchess of Teck, parents of Queen Mary, who was born at Kensington Palace on 26 May 1867.

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17.

Kensington Palace's holds the record as the oldest person in the history of the British royal family.

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18.

Kensington Palace became the Duke and Duchess's main residence in 2017, moving from their country home, Anmer Hall.

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19.

Kensington Palace's lived there with her husband Jack Brooksbank until November 2020.

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20.

Kensington Palace contains many public and private apartments and residences within the building and its grounds.

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21.

Kensington Palace Chapel was built in the 1830s, used for private family services and occasions.

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