This is the oldest surviving part of the palace, dating to the original work carried out by William and Mary when they purchased the house in 1689 as a country alternative to Whitehall Palace in Westminster. The Queen’s apartments are on the first floor overlooking the gardens. The first room you enter is the long gallery where the Queen was able to undertake pastimes such as walking, reading and needlework. Today there is also a display from the fine collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain that Queen Mary acquired during her time at Kensington.


Leading off from this is the Queens closet and then her private dining room.

Next to this is the Queens drawing room.

The final room in the suite is the Queens bedchamber.
In all, it is a relatively modest set of apartments for a monarch. But then Kensington wasn’t meant to be a palace for all the frills and trimmings of monarchy but a place for the King and Queen to escape to from the busy life of Whitehall.
Great pictures! Kensington was definitely one of the highlights of my own trip to England.
Glad you enjoyed your visit. It is a difficult to imagine now that at the time the royal family bought the palace Kensington was a village in the country outside of London.