Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century, and is the official London residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, while the Duke and Duchess of Kent reside at Wren House. Kensington Palace is also used on an unofficial basis by Prince Harry, as well as his cousin Zara Phillips.
On 6 November 2011, it was announced that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will move from their temporary residence in Kensington Palace to the four-story, 20-room Apartment 1-A, formerly the residence of Princess Margaret. It is expected that they will move in 2013, with renovation work taking place in 2012. Once the Duke and Duchess move into their new apartment, Prince Harry is expected to move his official residence from Clarence House to the residence the Duke and Duchess vacate.
It was the official residence of Diana, Princess of Wales (from 1981 until her death in 1997), Princess Margaret (from 1960 until her death in 2002) and Princess Alice (from 1994 until her death in 2004).
Today, the State Rooms are open to the public and managed by the independent charity Historic Royal Palaces; a nonprofit organisation that does not receive public funds. The offices and private accommodation areas of the Palace remain the responsibility of the Royal Household and are maintained by the Royal Household Property Section.
The nearest tubes are in Queensway, Bayswater, High Street Kensington, or (slightly further) Gloucester Road.
Read more about Kensington Palace: History
Famous quotes containing the words kensington and/or palace:
“Like a skein of loose silk blown against a wall
She walks by the railing of a path in Kensington Gardens,
And she is dying piecemeal
of a sort of emotional anemia.”
—Ezra Pound (1885–1972)
“It takes a heap o’ children to make a home that’s true,
And home can be a palace grand, or just a plain, old shoe;
But if it has a mother dear, and a good old dad or two,
Why, that’s the sort of good old home for good old me and you.”
—Louis Untermeyer (1885–1977)