KENSINGTON Palace is a working royal residence, housing numerous members of the Royal Family.
The palace is of great historical importance — here we take a look at its glorious past, famous residents and the rules of visitation.
Where is Kensington Palace in London?
Kensington Palace is a royal residence located in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, West London.
It is set in parkland that stretches from Hyde Park and is located in the beating heart of the bustling metropolis.
This makes it extremely accessible to the general public.
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Who lives at Kensington Palace?
A number of royals live at the palace currently, including Prince William and Princess Kate — along with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
Despite the fact that they moved to Windsor in 2022, Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace remains their official London residence.
Wren House at Kensington Palace is home to Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, and his wife Katharine, the Duchess of Kent.
The five-bedroom, five reception home is situated just to the north of the main palace.
It sounds very regal but Nottingham Cottage was so small
Meghan Markle
The Duke of Kent's brother, Prince Michael of Kent, and his wife Princess Michael of Kent — the female equivalent to her husband's title — live in Apartment 10 at Kensington Palace.
Princess Eugenie, her husband Jack Brooksbank and their young sons August and Ernest split their time between Ivy Cottage at Kensington Palace and a lavish family home in Portugal's sun-soaked Algarve.
Ivy Cottage is a three-bedroom residence to the north of the main building, nestled near a cluster of cottages on the palace grounds.
Other residents include Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, and his wife Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester — they moved from Apartment 1 to the Old Stables in 2019, which is a smaller residence at the palace.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle previously lived in the grounds as well — in the two-bedroom Nottingham Cottage, which is one of the smaller houses on the grounds, with one bathroom, small reception rooms, a kitchen and a compact back garden.
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The couple have slammed the home for being too small in their Netflix show, with Meghan saying: "It sounds very regal but Nottingham Cottage was so small."
Harry added: "As far as people were concerned we were living in a palace. [But] we were living in a cottage. On palace grounds.
"Kensington Palace sounds very regal of course, it does say palace in the name. But Nottingham Cottage was small."
How old is the royal residence?
Kensington Palace was originally a two-storey mansion built by Sir George Coppin in 1605 in what was then the village of Kensington.
It was once a small and suburban villa, known as Nottingham House.
But in 1698 King William and Queen Mary asked Christopher Wren, the architect of St Paul's Cathedral, to turn Nottingham House into a palace — this massive extension is largely what you see now.
Queen Victoria was born at Kensington Palace and lived here until 1837.
From 1981 until her untimely death in a car accident in Paris in 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales had an apartment at the palace.
Can you visit the gardens?
Kensington Gardens is fully open to the public and is next to Hyde Park.
Created in the 1860s, an Italian ornamental water garden can be found on the north side of park, near Lancaster Gate.
Historic parts of Kensington Palace are also open to the public.
The palace is home to the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, which includes items of royal, ceremonial and court dress dating from the 18th century to the present day.
You can find out more of what's on at the palace here.
