The King's Staircase
A stair wrapped in a vast mural of George I's court staring down from painted balconies, the finest thing in the palace.
Steve Cadman from London, U.K. — CC BY-SA 2.0 · DiscoA340 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · DiscoA340 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · DiscoA340 — CC BY-SA 4.0
On the morning of 24 May 1819 a girl named Victoria was born in a room of this palace, and on 20 June 1837, aged eighteen, she was woken here to be told she was Queen. Kensington has never been the palace of thrones and crowns; it is the palace of the royal household at home. Victoria grew up here under her mother's suffocating rules, Diana lived here after her divorce, and today it is still the official London residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, though the family now spends most of its time at Windsor, and their private wing is one no visitor ever sees. What opens to the public are the State Apartments, run by Historic Royal Palaces rather than the family. The visit starts on the King's Staircase, the best thing in the building: a broad stair wrapped in a vast mural of George I's court, its figures leaning over painted balustrades to stare at you as if you were the latest arrival. Then come the King's State Apartments with their painted ceilings and the Cupola Room, and «Victoria: A Royal Childhood», staged in the rooms she actually lived in, with her dolls, her tiny dresses and her notebooks. The Queen's State Apartments are shut for re-presentation until spring 2027, which removes a real chunk of the route; ninety minutes to two hours is ample. Be clear about expectations: anyone arriving with Buckingham Palace or Windsor in mind will find Kensington smaller, quieter and far less gilded. Its pull is the story, not the splendour. The most famous parts cost nothing anyway: the golden gates that vanished under a sea of flowers after Diana's death in September 1997, and the Sunken Garden where her statue with three children was unveiled in 2021. Both are outside the ticketed area, and plenty of people see them and carry on into the gardens. An adult ticket is GBP 24.70 until 8 November 2026, which includes the «Last Princesses of Punjab» exhibition, then drops to GBP 19 from 11 November (a little more with the optional donation); under-fives go free, and booking ahead on the official site is wise in the Gulf-family months of July and August, though not compulsory. The palace opens Wednesday to Sunday only, 10:00-18:00 from March to October (last entry 17:30) and until 16:00 in winter, when it is dark before five, and is closed every Monday and Tuesday; the Sunken Garden gate shuts on the same two days, so plan around it. For families: a lift serves all three floors, pushchairs are allowed throughout, and there is a visitor cafe. The nearest stations are High Street Kensington (Circle and District lines) and Queensway (Central line), each about ten minutes on foot through Kensington Gardens. Make it one chapter of a longer day: the palace in the morning, then the Round Pond and the Diana Memorial Playground for the children, and across into Hyde Park after lunch.
A stair wrapped in a vast mural of George I's court staring down from painted balconies, the finest thing in the palace.
The rooms where Queen Victoria was born and raised, with her dolls and tiny dresses, and where she learned she was Queen in 1837.
Outside the paid area and free (shut Monday and Tuesday): the garden Diana loved and her statue with three children, unveiled in 2021.
Kensington Gardens, London W8 4PX
Kensington GardensHalf the people strolling west across the Serpentine bridge have no idea they ha7 minutes walk4.8
Science MuseumThe capsule that orbited the Moon in May 1969, two months before Apollo 11 lande16 minutes walk4.7
Hyde ParkFive minutes on foot from the Arab restaurants of Edgware Road begins roughly 3522 minutes walk4.6Not if your London time is short: Kensington is much smaller and plainer, and the Queen's State Apartments are shut until spring 2027. See the gates and Sunken Garden for free and walk on into the gardens. If Victoria's or Diana's story interests you, or you are in London for weeks, ninety minutes inside is genuinely rewarding.
More so than most palaces: a lift reaches every floor, pushchairs are allowed on the whole route, and the Victoria childhood display with her dolls holds small children's attention. A few minutes away in the gardens is the Diana Memorial Playground with its pirate ship, which children usually remember more than the palace.