London: Kensington Palace

A statue of Queen Victoria in front of Kensington Palace by the Round Pond

Apologies in advance if I keep switching between London, Greece and Hong Kong, but I would still like to write about my experiences on my recent trip.

The bedroom (dining room) where Princess Victoria was born

In London we stayed at a hotel that was near Kensington Palace so we checked it out. It has been a royal home for over 300 years and the most famous monarch to be born here was Princess Victoria, later Queen Victoria on May 24, 1819.

I didn't know much about her life until visiting the palace, seeing the bedroom she was born in -- it was actually the dining room, but it was upstairs from the kitchen, but it was easier to bring up hot water. Displayed are Princess Victoria's parents' bed and her small cradle.

At the time Princess Victoria was fifth in line to the throne, with three elderly uncles ahead of her. However, her father died eight months after she was born, and left Victoria's German mother and her in difficult circumstances financially. Before her father died, his equerry, an officer of honour, John Conroy, was tasked with looking after Princess Victoria and her mother, the Duchess of Kent.

The King's Gallery is a grand room

As a child Princess Victoria played by herself, with dolls and her Spaniel dog Dash, and was home schooled by a German governess, Baroness Lehzen, with who she became very close. Kensington Palace also displays the toys she played with and the notebooks where she practiced cursive writing and even sketches that she copied from her drawing teacher. She wrote in a diary daily, though she knew her governess and mother would read it, and she continued this journaling habit well until her later years.

Conroy was hoping to have further control over Princess Victoria, especially if she ascended the throne before the age of 18 and was preparing her mother, the Duchess to become Regent. He established a series of strict rules for Princess Victoria, including that she was not to be alone at anytime, and that she had to hold someone's hand while walking down the stairs. As a result, Princess Victoria came to resent Conroy and her mother over the years.

Princess Victoria also prepared for the possibility of becoming queen by going on tours around the country to familiarize herself with the areas and the people, and recorded these experiences in her journal.

Wallpaper of Princess Diana by illustrator Julie Verhoeven

On June 20, 1837, news came that Victoria's uncle King William IV had died and she was now queen. As she was 18 years old, she was no longer under the control of Conroy and her mother and this led to her acrimonious relationship with them; she dismissed Conroy and instructed her mother to live in Belgrave Square. The new queen soon moved to Buckingham Palace.

Her first meeting was with the Accession Council where she wore black as a sign of respect for her uncle, though there is a portrait in the palace of her wearing white. Queen Victoria apparently hated this painting, saying the likeness was not of her either.

Queen Victoria's coronation was a year later. Another important man in her life was her German cousin Prince Albert. They were introduced at a ball in the palace with a few other suitors in 1836, but Queen Victoria had her eye on Albert. Following protocol, she proposed to him three years later and they married in 1840.

Queen Victoria's crown jewels on display

According to information in Kensington Palace, the pair doted on each other, and Prince Albert took a lot of interest in his wife's jewels, helping her design everything from tiaras to necklaces and such. She was so thrilled to have a husband with such good taste in design. They went on to have nine children!

The museum part of the palace also showed pictures of Princess Diana who also lived at Kensington Palace. Displayed in a foyer is a pink ballgown designed by Catherine Walker in 1987, and Princess Diana wore it at least four times. Nearby is a wall featuring wallpaper with colourful caricatures of the late princess.

We also saw some serious jewellery, particularly Queen Victoria's tiara topped with emerald tear-drop shaped stones and diamonds that were accompanied by a giant brooch, necklace and earrings. Definitely some massive rocks there, as well as a giant crown covered in diamonds for Queen Victoria's granddaughter Princess Louise. 

Outside the palace a few roses that had a lovely sweet scent, and still around in the autumn weather, though the sunken garden was already bare, as the gardeners were going to put in other plants for the fall season.

Royal roses still blooming in the autumn sun

Nevertheless we enjoyed the stroll around the palace grounds and learned a lot about Queen Victoria's life within these walls.

Kensington Palace
Kensington Gardens
London
W8 4PX
www.hrp.org.uk