Kensington Palace, the 407-years old building, past home to Queen Victoria and Princess Diana and from 2013 residence to Prince William and Princess Catherine, reopens on Monday after a 2 years $19 million renovation.
This witness of both high political affairs and intimate moments of royal hearts for over 300 years is situated in central London. The chief curator of the palace said that the part museum, part royal abode will allow visitors to meet with four different centuries of British monarchy. The palace administration is hoping that the renovated royal building will present a clearer picture of British royal life and would certainly showcase the never seen side of aristocracy.
In contrast to the giant grey Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth II’s official home, the palace which was the home to six British monarchs including Queen Victoria and Princess Diana is a warm red brick building in the central part of the Kensington Gardens.
The museum at palace will showcase the life of different monarchs. At ground floor the visitors will find Princess Diana’s dresses on display. The selected five dresses will give the glimpse of Diana’s evolving fashion style. She was the most recent occupant of the palace who lived here for 16 years.
The black silk taffeta gown by Emanuel, a Versace cocktail dress and a fuchsia Catherine Walker gown are the major attraction of the exhibition titled ‘Diana: Glimpse of a Modern Princess’.
The exhibition at upstairs devoted to Queen Victoria will take the visitors into the galleries of golden moments of British rule. The exhibition includes the room where Victoria was born and the room where at the age of 18 she was informed about the death of her uncle King William IV and she was queen.
The display cases will also show her belongings – her first pair of baby shoes, a pair of royal stockings, her ivory silk wedding gown and her black mourning dress she wore after Albert’s death.
All these and much more is there to welcome visitors at the palace. Queen Elizabeth II will officially inaugurate the exhibition on Monday. It is sure that the extraordinary lives of the royals will be a subject of attraction and would certainly allow visitors to explore the age old aristocracy.