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Kensington Palace in London has both a public area and a private area, and never the twain shall meet. William and Kate, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, live here, as do other members of the royal family. Don’t expect to see any of them. They like their privacy.

The public part of the palace is managed by the independent charity Historic Royal Palaces, which receives funding neither from the government nor the royal family.

A visit to Kensington Palace comprises both indoor and outdoor experiences. The palace itself is in Kensington Gardens, a public park with flower gardens, lots of trees, and space to roam. The Serpentine Lake and Peter Pan Statue are in nearby Hyde Park.

Here are a few fascinating facts about this palace.

1. Princess Diana Once Lived There

Diana, Princess of Wales, once lived in the private part of Kensington Palace. Her fashion sense was renowned. On occasion there are temporary exhibitions of her dresses at Kensington — these are rare, popular shows.

There’s a permanent exhibit at Kensington Palace featuring one of Diana’s dresses and various designers’ original sketches for some of her outfits. Some have Diana’s handwritten notes.

Diana was said to have been fond of the Sunken Garden, sometimes complimenting the gardeners if she saw them. In 2017, the Sunken Garden was temporarily transformed into the White Garden as a memorial, 20 years after Diana died.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement in the White Garden.

2. Many Monarchs Contributed To Its Development

More than 300 years ago, this was a country home well outside London. The new king and queen, William III and Mary II, bought it in 1689. With Sir Christopher Wren as their architect, they expanded the house to create what is now known as Kensington Palace.

Mary’s sister Anne was the next queen. One of her lasting contributions was the Orangery, a decorative conservatory overlooking the gardens.

After Anne came King George I. For George, the designer William Kent created unique wall and ceiling paintings that are still highlights, especially the Cupola Room and the King’s Staircase.

Queen Victoria grew up in Kensington Palace but didn’t change it. As queen, she moved to Buckingham Palace. The large white marble statue of the 18-year-old Queen Victoria outside the palace was sculpted by her daughter, Princess Louise.

3. There Are A Number Of Visitor Routes Through The Palace

All visitor routes start in the vestibule. Visits are self-guided.

To learn more about Queen Victoria’s story, ascend the beautiful double staircase to the landing. Through the door is the Red Saloon, and beyond that are rooms highlighting Victoria’s life story.

To get to the King’s State Apartments, use the King’s Staircase. For the Queen’s State Apartments, head in the opposite direction.

The State Apartments are each a series of rooms that become less public and more private as you proceed. There’s not much furniture in the King’s State Apartments, because people weren’t expected to sit in the king’s presence.

Much of the art and objects displayed in these rooms come from the Royal Collection. The Royal Collection Trust has detailed information.

When you’re done exploring, don’t forget to visit the cafe and shop, also near the vestibule. The Historic Royal Palaces shops typically have a good selection of gifts and books that you won’t find elsewhere. Afterward, walk from the palace to the nearby Orangery to admire the gardens en route.

4. The Palace Has An Outlander Connection

The man whose statue stands outside the palace is King William III. Through his Dutch father, William was Prince of Orange. His mother was a daughter of King Charles I. William married his first cousin, Mary.

William lived in a world of political intrigue, alliances, power struggles, and religious conflict.

It was the 1600s. Although the United Kingdom did not exist yet, the King of England was also the King of Ireland and Scotland. There was deep division between Protestants and Catholics. The Protestants in England were determined to keep Catholics away from positions of power.

William and Mary were Protestants. In 1685, Mary’s father became King James II of England and Ireland and King James VII of Scotland. Although James was a Catholic, he was tolerated as king. His reign was expected to be fairly short, and his heirs, Mary and Anne, were Protestants.

Then, unexpectedly, James’s second wife had a baby boy, a Catholic. He was automatically first in line for the throne. This was unacceptable.

James II was persuaded to step down and was eventually forced into exile. This was the so-called Glorious Revolution, in which Mary and her husband deposed her father.

The exiled Stuarts never gave up their claim to the throne. Their story is the historic backdrop for the book and television series Outlander.

The four-poster Stuart bed in the Queen’s Bedroom at Kensington Palace is believed to be the one in which that fateful baby, James Francis Edward Stuart, was born at Saint James’s Palace in London in 1688.

5. The Queen’s Closet Makes An Appearance In The Favourite

The award-winning 2018 film The Favourite, starring Olivia Colman, dramatizes the later life of Queen Anne. The Favourite isn’t 100 percent historically accurate, but it is based on real people and their relationships. Sarah Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough, was Anne’s long-time friend and confidant. She was extremely powerful politically and socially because of this friendship.

However, the friendship ended in a terrible fight in the Queen’s Closet. This isn’t what we think of as a closet. It’s one of the comfortable rooms in the Queen’s State Apartments.

6. William Kent’s Work Can Be Found Throughout The Palace

When Queen Anne died in 1714, there were more than 50 Catholics in the line of succession, but by this time, they were excluded by law. The prize went to the Protestant House of Hanover, and that’s how Britain ended up with a German king, George I.

George hired the painter-designer William Kent to improve Kensington Palace. The first place you’ll notice Kent’s work is as you walk up the King’s Staircase. It’s like entering a private world. Kent used trompe l’oeil techniques to bring visitors into the space with a series of arched balconies full of well-dressed people, the sky behind them, all looking alive and fully three-dimensional.

Another of William Kent’s masterpieces is the Cupola Room. The domed ceiling is painted in rich colors, and again, there is extensive use of trompe l’oeil to make flat surfaces look three-dimensional.

At the center is a magnificent four-sided clock, added later.

Queen Victoria was baptized in this room in 1819.

7. Queen Victoria Spent Her Childhood At Kensington

The last film I’ll mention is The Young Victoria. The girl Victoria lived a lonely, isolated life under the strict Kensington System run by her widowed mother and Sir John Conroy. Things changed when Victoria turned 18 and almost immediately became queen upon the death of her uncle, King William IV.

Historic Royal Palaces has recreated Victoria’s playroom, adding some of her actual possessions. You can feel how a little girl would have rattled around in there all by herself. She wasn’t allowed to play with many other children.

The chief curator, Lucy Worsley, suggests that the dreaded Kensington System did help prepare Victoria for the onerous job of being the monarch. Maybe — but it could have been kinder.

You may get to see one of the young Victoria’s dresses. It’s surprising how very tiny she was.

On the first morning of her new life as queen, Victoria had to meet with her Privy Council. This is a memorable scene in the film. Victoria delivers a clear and compelling speech that lets all the powerful men know she has a mind of her own.

That historic event happened in the Red Saloon, the room at the top of the graceful double stairs. It’s set up much as it was on that day in 1837.

What To Know Before You Go

The Victoria and Albert Museum and the Natural History Museum are about a 20-minute walk from Kensington Palace. Along the way, check out the gigantic Albert Memorial. Queen Victoria was married to Prince Albert for 21 years and a widow for 39. This was her most extravagant tribute to him.

Please check the website for the most current Kensington Palace information, including ticket and accessibility information. The gardens and temporary exhibits change, and there may be special events.

Kensington Palace is one of five Historic Royal Palaces in London. If you love seeing palaces, a membership may make sense.

For more to see and do in London, see this page.

Hampton Court Palace in London is grand, historic, and surrounded by beautiful gardens. Visitors can freely wander, exploring life in a royal palace from the Tudor, Stuart, and Georgian times.

Managed by Historic Royal Palaces, Hampton Court Palace can tell as many stories as you have time for.

My first visit was a family trip long ago, when our young daughter was studying the Tudors at school.

I had no idea it would be so wonderful. It was the first time I had visited a palace, and I was hooked. I joined Historic Royal Palaces, and I still visit whenever I can.

Here are a few reasons I love Hampton Court Palace.

1. It’s The Real Thing

Hampton Court Palace is an actual place where momentous things have happened. Many of them have to do with King Henry VIII, the best-known of the Tudors. For example, the Chapel Royal, which is open to visitors most days, played an important role in Henry’s life.

The pope wouldn’t permit an annulment of Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon. After much argument, Henry decreed that England would no longer be a Catholic country. Generations of religious turmoil followed.

Hampton Court Palace was one of Henry’s many homes during these years. Imagine the many heated discussions he must have had right here.

Years later, Catherine Howard, Henry’s fifth wife, was sentenced to death for adultery. She pleaded unsuccessfully for mercy outside the Chapel Royal while the king prayed within. Catherine was executed by beheading.

In addition to all the real-life events that have happened here, plenty of movies have been filmed at Hampton Court Palace.

2. You’ll Learn More About The King Who Had Six Wives

Henry VIII did indeed have six wives over many years.

“Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived,” is how children remember his wives.

Some people portray Henry as a jovial fellow, fond of the ladies. Others see him as a ruthless tyrant, obsessed with power and possessed of an overriding desire to preserve the Tudor family dynasty. You’ll be better able to judge after a visit to Hampton Court.

But Hampton Court isn’t only about the Tudors. The Stuarts and the Georgians are also part of the story, up to King George II.

3. You’ll See How The Palace Was Altered Over The Years

The palace is a giant building with formal rooms, modest apartments, grand halls, long corridors, and staircases ranging from servants’ speedways to venues for magnificent works of art. There are three major courtyards and several smaller ones. Surrounding the palace are some outbuildings, acres of gardens, and the River Thames.

The two main parts of the building are the Tudor palace of Henry VIII and the baroque palace of the joint rulers King William III and Queen Mary II, designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

From the ticket building, walk to the moat and through the impressive west gate into Base Court. This is the Tudor palace of the 1500s, all red brick and diamond shapes. The many ornate chimneys remind me of fisherman knit sweaters.

Later, you’ll see Clock Court and Fountain Court. The building style changes; white Portland stone enhances the brick. This is the baroque palace, which altered and partly replaced the Tudor palace.

4. It Fed Hundreds Without Electricity

Hampton Court Palace was like a hotel with a thousand rooms. When the reigning monarch was there, so were all the lords, ladies, ambassadors, visiting dignitaries, and others, as well as the many servants and staff needed to keep things going.

The energy and reality of their work shows up brilliantly in the Tudor kitchens, a highlight of any visit. In this great hall, with its high ceiling and massive fireplace, you can see how the Tudor cooks created elaborate banquets for hundreds of people. Some days, the fire will be burning, and if you are really lucky, you might see and smell meat roasting on the spit.

The Historic Royal Palaces organization has carefully researched and recreated Tudor recipes and cooking methods. On a visit, you’ll get to see some of the cooking utensils and ingredients used in the 1500s.

I like to start any visit by following the Kitchen Tour on the free audio guide.

5. You’ll Hear Stories From Costumed Docents

The costumed interpreters at Hampton Court are extremely good. They stay in character and wear highly detailed outfits. They’re approachable and will answer questions about their life and times. I’ve had the opportunity to meet King Henry VIII himself more than once.

Often, there are interactive mini-performances at different times of the day, in different parts of the palace, based on things that happened here. These always get me into the spirit of the place.

6. There’s Plenty For Children

Hampton Court Palace is used to having children visit, both with school groups and in families. There’s a big playground called the Magic Garden, a famous maze to get lost in, and plenty of space outdoors for those with a lot of energy.

The palace also offers self-guided interpretive adventures called Family Trails. Sometimes there are royal robes available at the audio-guide station for visitors large and small to try on.

Although there are some precious do-not-touch items here, for the most part, it’s easy to move through the palace without having to worry about breaking something irreplaceable.

Historic Royal Palaces does a good job of making their shops an extension of the site, offering, among other things, speciality items and well-chosen, relevant books and gifts. The Henry Shop is the most child friendly.

For food, I find the Tiltyard Cafe the most comfortable spot for people of all ages.

7. It’s Simply Magnificent

Hampton Court Palace stopped serving as a royal residence in the 1700s, during the Georgian period. It still exudes luxury and wealth, however, even though the royal family is long gone.

My favorite Hampton Court treasures are the wood carvings by Grinling Gibbons. Created in the late 1600s and early 1700s, Gibbons’s work features lifelike, delicate garlands of fruit, flowers, and cherubs framing some of the doors and works of art in the baroque palace.

Another unique prize, the massive Abraham tapestries hanging in the Great Hall, were commissioned by King Henry VIII and woven in Brussels with threads of gold and silver.

The Tudor ceiling of the Chapel Royal has been repaired and restored over the years. It now looks much as it did in its heyday, a dazzling sky of golden stars. The organ here was commissioned by Queen Anne in the early 1700s and is still played.

The lovely ladies in the paintings along the Communication Gallery are the Windsor Beauties, and in the William III State Rooms, there’s another set, the Hampton Court Beauties.

For more fine art from the Royal Collection, visit the Cumberland Art Gallery.

The massive astronomical clock in Clock Court tells the time, the day, the month, the phases of the moon, the tides, and the sign of the zodiac. It’s simply magnificent. On this clock, the sun revolves around the Earth. That’s what people believed in 1540, when the clock was created.

8. It’s Full Of Fascinating Remnants Of The Past

Many people have left their mark on Hampton Court Palace — literally. You can spot the formally carved initials of different kings and queens above the gates, on the ceilings, and on a wall outside.

The heraldic King’s Beasts lining the moat bridge are copies of a set originally sculpted for King Henry VIII. They represent the Tudor and Seymour ancestral families.

Bored servants, soldiers, guests — no one really knows — scratched graffiti on some of the stone window ledges and door frames. It’s interesting to wonder who traced their hand here or their initials there. So much of the palace is about royalty and famous people that it’s nice to see a common touch as well.

9. The Restored Gardens Are Spectacular

Hampton Court’s gardens are worth a visit on their own, especially in the summer when the flowers are in bloom and the massive rose garden smells heavenly.

The Privy Garden of King William III is the authentic garden William would have had 300 years ago, had he lived. I admire all the research, archaeology, horticulture, and hard work that brought this lost garden back to life so vividly in the 1990s.

What To Know Before You Go

Hampton Court Palace is a flat site. The buildings have stairs. Elevators may be available upon request. Please check the website for the most current accessibility information.

There’s a train from Waterloo Station to Hampton Court Station. From elsewhere in London, you’ll need to use the Transport for London Journey Planner. There’s no Tube station at Hampton Court, but there are buses and a parking lot.

You’ll need at least a half day to tour Hampton Court Palace, but you could easily spend a full day there. Spend the evening or even stay the night in one of the nearby riverside towns. I love Richmond upon Thames, about 30 minutes by bus from the palace. It’s on the Tube’s District Line.

For more to see and do in London, see this page.