Served in the Morris Room, the menu features sweet and savoury delicacies from the Victorian period, such as Mrs Beeton’s cucumber sandwiches, Indian ham sandwiches and fruit sconelets.Īlternatively, make time to go to the Milestone – a luxurious bolthole a stone’s throw from the gates of Kensington Palace and Gardens – to feast on exquisite teatime treats in the hotel’s Cheneston’s Restaurant, the Park Lounge or the Conservatory. The Victoria & Albert Museum, housing a permanent collection of 4.5 million objects, sits just across the road and is a bastion of another quintessential English tradition: afternoon tea. The Natural History Museum is not only one of London’s most spectacular buildings – its changing exhibits are also world-famous. The road was built for King Charles II in 1694 and remained private until 1830 for use exclusively by the monarch, but today it offers a mix of designer boutiques, restaurants and high street stores.Ī hub for the arts and humanities for decades, Kensington is known as London’s museum quarter. For retail therapy, the King’s Road in neighbouring Chelsea is favoured by young royals, including the Duchess of Cambridge, and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. Head to South Kensington and farm-to-fork eaterie, Bumpkin, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge treated 27 members of their staff to Christmas lunch. KitchensĪfter working up an appetite in the gardens, lunch stops are plentiful. Each summer, the gallery commissions an architect who has not previously built in the UK to design a temporary pavilion for the lawn in front of the Serpentine. For art lovers, the Serpentine Galleries are set either side of Serpentine Bridge and display contemporary art and work by pioneering practitioners, with previous exhibits by Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst.
To the west of the Long Water, the Peter Pan statue stands adorned with rabbits, squirrels, mice and fairies, while to the south the Albert Memorial stands proudly on the horizon. The seven-mile Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk, which crosses to neighbouring Hyde Park’s Diana Memorial Fountain, also passes through Kensington Gardens and marks favourite locations associated with the princess during her lifetime.Īvenues of trees radiate from the Round Pond, leading to the different corners of the parkland. Once part of Hyde Park, the broad pathways of Kensington Gardens lead across the open greens to much-loved attractions, including the 150-year-old Italian water garden, the iconic bronze statue of Peter Pan and Diana Memorial Playground. GardensĪfter roaming the historic hallways, Kensington Palace’s splendid grounds await. For a touch of modern history, the spectacular exhibition of Princess Diana’s dresses runs until February 2019. The Cupola Room is the most ornately designed room of the State Apartments and was the first royal commission of William Kent, the artist and designer who would go on to decorate the rest of the interior of the palace. While Nottingham Cottage may be out of bounds, visitors can tour public wings including the King’s Gallery, which looks almost exactly as it did when it was decorated for King George I in 1725, with a mix of red damask and opulent carvings and walls bearing some of the finest paintings in the Royal Collection. Nottingham Cottage, Prince Harry’s two-bedroom abode is also located in the grounds and was the setting for his romantic proposal to Meghan Markle.
Nowhere is quite as ensconced in the modern royal fairytale the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reside in a 20-room apartment in Kensington Palace, while former residents include Diana, Princess of Wales and Princess Margaret. The birthplace of Queen Victoria in 1819 and her residence until her ascension to the throne in 1837, the palace brims with exhibits, artefacts and original features. Its royal connections can be traced back to 1689 when King William III chose it as his residence, and today Kensington Palace remains the jewel in the borough’s crown.
Credit: Kensington Palace As royal wedding excitement hits fever pitch, we explore the London borough the newlyweds will call home Words Chantal Borcianiį lanked by the verdant acres of Hyde Park and a stone’s throw from walks along the River Thames, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is a much-loved leafy corner of the capital with a rich history winding back centuries.
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