One of the most famous royal palaces in Britain, and second only to Buckingham Palace in London, Kensington Palace has a long and colorful history. It was expanded in the late 1600s as a new home for a king whose asthma was getting worse at his main palace. (Don't we all wish we could score a new house every time we get the sniffles?) But that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to interesting facts about Kensington Palace. Many famous royals have made their home there over the centuries, and there have been intrigues, tragedies, and even a ghost or two.
On the outside, Kensington Palace doesn't exactly look opulent. It's not made of marble or stone — or even feature showy architecture, such as the Queen's residence of Buckingham palace. It's not ancient and romantic, like Windsor Castle, which is dramatically situated on a hill. It's more of a workhorse — an enormous red brick building built around three courtyards with multiple gardens that has several detached cottages and other buildings. It has public rooms and gardens with exhibitions that anyone can peruse, and it's become a huge attraction because of who lives there, because inside, of course, are the luxurious digs of William and Kate and their three children.
But Kensington's history and features go beyond the Cambridges and even its most famous previous tenant, Princess Diana — and it's worth knowing. Here are 17 super-interesting things to know about Kensington Palace.
It Has an Embarrassing Nickname
It may be the site of William and Kate's glamorous, enormous apartment, but historically, Kensington Palace has been somewhat of a joke. That's because it's traditionally been where the monarch's unmarried, broke, and/or leeching relatives have lived, until recently, rent-free. Over the years, it got pegged as the "Aunt Heap," a name that has stuck.
Here are the details on Kate and William's luxe apartment
Apartment 1A is where the Cambridges make their London home, although the name is bit misleading, because it has 20 rooms spread over four floors. It's furnished with art on loan from the royal collection and comfy-looking furniture — as we can see in this picture of the couple with Prince Harry and President and Michelle Obama. Here's hoping that we get to see more of it at some point.
Other Royals Live There Too
A few months after Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank got engaged, the couple moved into a three-bedroom house on the Kensington Palace grounds called Ivy Cottage. The couple are putting together a nursery there for their upcoming baby! We don't yet know where newlywed Princess Beatrice and her husband will live. Word is that they'll likely end up somewhere within Kensington Palace. That would make sense, because the sisters have always been close.
It Was Prince Harry & Meghan Markle's Prior Residence
The couple famously spent months enjoying a secret courtship, thanks in part to the fact that they were dating long distance. But once things got serious, Meghan quit her acting job, left her home in Toronto, and moved into Nottingham Cottage with Harry, a cozy little home tucked away among Kensington Palace's grandeur. Although they were supposed to move into apartments right next door to William and Kate after their wedding, the so-called Fabulous Four's falling out saw Meghan and Harry opt for a home in Windsor instead.
Royal Engagement Photo Was Taken There
For their engagement photo, Harry and Meghan chose the Sunken Garden, where flowers are laid out in terraces leading down to a rectangular pond, which was a favorite of Princess Diana's. In fact, the garden was planted in white and cream flowers in 2017 for the 20th anniversary of Diana's death.
It Held Princess Diana's Apartment
Diana moved into Kensington Palace — taking over apartments eight and nine — when she was 20 and lived there for 15 years. She styled the apartment herself with the help of a decorator, and offered a good look inside through many family portraits and photographs that were publicized. They reveal lots of yellow walls, homey wallpaper, a grand piano, tapestries, heavy drapes, and cream carpeting.
It Is a Place To Honor the People's Princess
When Princess Diana died, droves of mourners gathered to grieve together and leave notes, cards, pictures, teddy bears, and 60 million flowers — later used as fertilizer for the Sunken Garden — starting a tradition that persists to this day. Every year on August 31, fans gather there to leave everything from cakes to letters and, of course, flowers — all dedicated to the People's Princess.
It's Where Queen Victoria Was Born, Raised and Became Queen
The future Queen Victoria was born in the dining room of Kensington Palace (seriously) and grew up sheltered by her mother and a governess in the house. At 6 a.m. on June 30, 1837, she was woken up and told that her uncle, King George IV had died, and that she was now queen. She was just 18 years old.
A Body Was Recently Found Outside the Palace
Police were called to the Round Pond (shown above) in Kensington Gardens in September, because someone spotted a woman inside. She turned out to be unresponsive and was declared dead. (She has not been identified.) The pond is in front of Kate and William's apartment, in an area that used to be royal land but is now a public garden.
Nicky Hilton's Wedding Was at Kensington Palace
Paris Hilton's sister and fellow hotel heiress Nicky Hilton exchanged vows with banking heir (sigh) James Rothschild on the grounds of Kensington Palace. They had their reception at the palace's Orangery, a beautiful venue often rented out for events. We can't even begin to imagine how much it costs to have an entire wedding at Kensington Palace, not that it was the merest concern for either family.
Anyone Can Have Afternoon Tea There
The Orangery isn't just for high society weddings and lavish events. Set in a pavilion (that's it, above, being prepped for Nicky Hilton's wedding), it's also a very popular destination for afternoon tea — as well as breakfast and lunch — and the only place in London where that's possible on the grounds of a royal palace.
Cucumber sandwiches, anyone?
It Was Bombed During World War II
All of London was bombed by the Germans in the Blitz during World War II, and Kensington Palace was not spared. The Queen's Drawing Room and the north side of the building were heavily damaged. The building, in general, had to be restored, because it had been used by the military throughout the war.
Princess Diana Buried a Friend's Baby There
When one of her best friends had a stillborn baby, Princess Diana offered to have the infant buried at Kensington Palace — in a lovely corner of her private garden. It was a secret for years, until Diana's former butler talked about it in an interview, to the horror of the friend.
It Was Party Central During the '60s
After decades of being home to older, minor royals, Princess Margaret and her husband, Antony Armstrong-Jones, moved into what is now William and Kate's apartment. But unlike the straight-arrow current couple, Margaret and Antony liked to party hearty, and so they threw fabulous get-togethers at their home and if they went out to socialize, often bringing the party back to Kensington. Must have been quite a fun time.
Haunting Rumors Persist
Old places always have their ghost stories, and Kensington Palace is no different. It's supposedly haunted by several monarchs and their wives or daughters. Most disturbing are Diana biographer Andrew Morton's comments about the Cambridge kids' nursery:
"Prince George's nursery is in Apartment 1A of Kensington Palace, which has been a notorious spot for ghost sightings," he told the Sun. "Princess Margaret's housekeeper told her she saw a woman in Regency dress suddenly appear in front of her, then vanish through a wall. So let's hope little Prince George can sleep peacefully in his cot at night."
Princess Diana Used to Sneak Lovers Into the Palace
Kensington may be a private royal residence, but it's not exactly tucked away in the countryside. It's on a public street and has a very famous, very visible gate. So when Princess Diana wanted to have male company, she couldn't just drive home with them. Instead, she would have her former butler, Paul Burrell, stuff them into the trunk of his car and drive them in.
Hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do! One famous hook-up: Canadian singer Bryan Adams, whose then-girlfriend cited his tryst with Diana as a factor in their breakup.
It Inspired an Unusual Oscar Gown
Everything Billy Porter does is extra, and that includes his Oscars 2020 gown, which was inspired by Kensington Palace. Sounds random, but Billy's stylist once took a tour of the palace and imagined what parties there must have been like in the past. When Billy needed a gown for the most royal-like of Hollywood events, a light bulb went off, and he designed a billowing skirt that took its inspiration from a gold, marble, and wood dome in one of the rooms.
We would never have guessed that!
