Kensington Palace...UK Trip: Day 4k

Before today, I knew nothing about Kensington Palace beyond the fact that this was where Diana, Princess of Wales lived and that this is the gate before which flowers were placed when the word came out that she had been killed in a car wreck. Flowers were piled upon flowers until the bouquets of flowers reached a height of five feet and more.

I didn't know, for example, that William and Mary were the first royal residents here in the late 1600's when they removed themselves here (back then Kensingtom was still in the country) to get away from the dampness and frequent flooding of the Thames River which affected William's rather weak, asthmatic lungs.

                                                                Kensington Palace

I didn't know William and Mary were co-regents, husband and wife, ruling together  from 1689 until her death in 1694.

                                                            Statue of King William
                                   (and I certainly don't know why there is no statue of Queen Mary)
                                                      (since they were co-rulers and all)

I didn't know that King William was a huge connoisseur  of art which led to the construction of the King's Gallery so he could display and admire the art in his huge collection.

 

 

I didn't know that William's wife, Mary, had a younger sister named Anne (married to Prince George of Denmark) who became queen in 1702 upon the deaths of William and Mary. The story of Anne is a tragic one. She gave birth to eighteen children, seventeen of which were either stillborn, died shortly after birth or within the first two years of life. The only child to survive infancy was William, her seventh child. However, he was to die on the evening of his eleventh birthday. Apparently he danced himself to exhaustion, dropped into a restless sleep and was never to awaken.

 

 

I didn't know that Alexandrina Victoria was the name Queen Victoria was given at birth and that she was born at Kensington Palace in 1819. Her parents were living abroad at the time but they hurried home to England as her birth became imminent, just in time for her to be born on British soil, in case the crown should ever pass to her. At the time of her birth, she was fifth in line to the throne.

Victoria and her mother

Victoria's royal cradle

I didn't know that the childhood of Victoria was miserable and lonely. Her father died before she was a year old and her mother was intent upon becoming the power behind the throne as it became more and more evident that Victoria would someday be queen. Her mother dominated and controlled all aspects of her life. Every moment of Victoria's day was prescribed by her mother, every person she was allowed to meet had to have mother's approval and everything she said and did was recorded by her mother. She was isolated from other children, spending her childhood in solitary play, being educated by her tutor, sketching and taking music lessons.

 











 

I didn't know that Victoria was not permitted the acquaintance of any of her relatives on her father's side in the fear that they would entice her to rebel against her mother. However, her mother's parenting skills accomplished that feat with no interference by any relatives. Victoria's  first request upon reaching the age of eighteen was to be able to spend one hour alone and her second request was that her bed be removed form her mother's room.


I didn't know that Victoria was only eighteen years old and living at Kensington Palace when she got word that her uncle, King William IV, had died and that she was now the queen of England.

I didn't know that Victoria was barely five feet tall. I didn't know that Albert was her cousin and she didn't even meet him until she was seventeen. Soon after, that she became queen and her advisers were keen to marry her off. She wasn't too thrilled with their suggestions. Then Albert stepped back into her life. And she fell in love with him...

Queen Victoria's actual wedding dress

I didn't know the details of the marriage proposal. She asked him to marry her because, of course, it would be considered bad form to ask an actual queen to marry you. Unless you were a king, I suppose.

In the words of Queen Victoria, written the day after her wedding: "...MY DEAREST DEAREST DEAR Albert … his excessive love & affection gave me feelings of heavenly love & happiness I never could have hoped to have felt before! He clasped me in his arms, & we kissed each other again & again! His beauty, his sweetness & gentleness – really how can I ever be thankful enough to have such a Husband! … to be called by names of tenderness, I have never yet heard used to me before – was bliss beyond belief! Oh! This was the happiest day of my life!”

 

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

The nine children of their union

 A few quotes from Queen Victoria:

"Since it has pleased Providence to place me in this station,
I shall do my utmost to fulfill my duty towards my country."

 "I am very young and perhaps in many, though not in all things, inexperienced, but I am sure that very few have more real good will and more real desire to do what is fit and right than I have."

"We are not amused."

"Being pregnant is an occupational hazard of being a wife."

"We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat; they do not exist."

I didn't know that Prince Philip died of typhoid after they had been married only 21 years and that this sent Victoria into deep depression for many years. She didn't even go out in public for three years after his death and she wore only black for the remainder of her life.

I didn't know that Queen Victoria ruled for 63 years, 7 months and three days, the longest reign of any British monarch. At the time of her death, she was the queen of one quarter of the human race.

I thought I knew a lot about Princess Diana but, well, I didn't. I didn't know she got married at St. Paul's Cathedral--I thought it was Westminster. I didn't know she actually had royal blood herself. I didn't know her official title once she married Prince Charles was:

Her Royal Highness 
The Princess of Wales, 

Duchess of Cornwall, 

Duchess of Rothesay, 

Countess of Chester.

Some of Princess Diana's clothes on exhibition

I didn't know that Kensington Palace is the official London residence of Prince Harry of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent as well as being the home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George (the official titles of Prince William and Kate and their baby) (which I didn't know, either)

I didn't know that William and Kate's residence in Kensington is a snug little apartment with 20 rooms contained in 4 stories.  Obviously, I didn't get a photo of their home sweet home but this website has a little more info about who lives where in the palace:
 /http://mylusciouslife.com/royalty-kate-william-kensington-palace-home-apartment-1a-london/

I didn't know it at the time, although I kind of suspected it, that this is the entrance to the private apartments at Kensington Palace. 

And we walked right down that road.
The road that leads to the royal apartments at Kensington Palace.
The road that leads away from the palace.

And back onto the streets of London. 

Where another adventure of sorts awaited us.