The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Sunday 2 May 2004

A Guide to Royal London

This month I have decided to write about places rather than people.  Hopefully I can highlight a few new possibilities for your next visit to Britain along with rounding up the old favorites.  London has always been the heart of the kingdom, and several of the most important royal sites are there.  Start with the Tower of London, the historic fortress, prison, and palace and home of the crown jewels.   It is administered by Historic Royal Palaces, whose website at www.hrp.org.uk has information for planning your visit.   Historic Royal Palaces also administers Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, the Banqueting House, and Kew Palace, which will be discussed later. 

After the Tower, the most important royal site in London is Westminister Abbey (www.westminister-abbey.org), where almost every coronation for almost a thousand years has taken place.  Numerous monarchs and other royals are buried there as well.  St. Paul’s Cathedral (www.stpauls.co.uk) is certainly worth a visit, and is remembered as the location of the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1981.   

There are other churches and chapels with royal associations in London that are open to the public for services.  St. James’ Palace has two chapels, the Chapel Royal and the Queen’s Chapel.   The Chapel Royal, built during Henry VIII’s short marriage to Anne of Cleves, was where Victoria and Albert were married, and where the coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales rested before her funeral.  The Queen’s Chapel was originally a Roman Catholic chapel for Charles II’s queen, Henrietta Maria.  George III and Queen Charlotte were married there, and Princess Margaret’s coffin rested there before her funeral.  Some information about the chapels is available at www.royal.gov.uk.  There is also the Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy near the Savoy hotel, the private chapel of the Royal Victorian Order (not online). 

Of course, Buckingham Palace is the London location most associated with the royals.  It is open only during August and September, when the state rooms may be viewed.  This year there will also be an exhibit about historical musical entertainments at the palace.  Also at Buckingham Palace are the Queen’s Gallery, with rotating exhibits from the Royal Collection (currently on George III and Queen Charlotte as collectors), and the Royal Mews, where royal carriages and horses may be seen.  Both are open to the public for most of the year.   

Across Green Park from Buckingham Palace is St. James’ Palace, a historic palace that is now the home of Princess Anne and the Queen’s cousin Princess Alexandra.  The Prince of Wales also lived there between 1993 and 2002.  It is not open to the public, but may be viewed from outside.  Near St. James’ Palace is Clarence House, formerly the home of the late Queen Mother and now the home of the Prince of Wales and Princes William and Harry.  Five rooms at Clarence House will be open to the public this year between August 4 and October 17 (at a cost of five pounds and fifty pence).  For visiting information for all of the occupied palaces, see www.royal.gov.uk.   

The other well-known London palace is Kensington Palace, the home of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.  Her apartment is not open to visitors, but I have heard that there are plans for the home of the late Princess Margaret to open to the public eventually.  The portion of Kensington Palace that is open to visitors dates from the late seventeenth century and includes the apartment where Queen Victoria grew up.  There are also changing exhibitions from the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection.  Queen Anne’s Orangery, next to the palace, makes a nice stop for tea. 

Banqueting House is the only remaining part of Whitehall Palace, the London palace of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  It was designed by Inigo Jones in 1619 in the classical style advocated by the Italian architect Palladio.  Rubens painted its ceiling.  Charles I was executed on a scaffold outside Banqueting House.  A similar classical building is the Queen’s House at Greenwich, built in 1616 by Inigo Jones for James I’s consort, Anne of Denmark.  It has been restored to its 1662 appearance and is open to the public.  Before leaving the city, remember that you can take a closer look at the royals at two famous London sites:  the National Portrait Gallery (www.npg.org.uk) and Madame Tussauds (www.madame-tussauds.co.uk).   

There is a wealth of royal sites west of London along the Thames.   This article was inspired by a recent article in the Independent newspaper by Michael McCarthy, available at http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=516323, “How rebirth of Kew Palace sets seal on Britain’s own chateau valley.”  Kew Palace was built in 1631 as the home of a wealthy merchant.  It was one of the London residences used by the royal family during the period between the burning of Whitehall Palace in 1698 and Queen Victoria’s move into Buckingham Palace after her ascension in 1837.  George III’s large family used the Kew area as their country residence.  Besides Kew Palace, they also occupied nearby houses that have since been demolished.  Queen Charlotte died in Kew Palace in 1818, and Queen Victoria opened it to the public in 1899.  An exterior renovation of the palace has just been completed, and an interior renovation is about to begin.  In 2006 visitors will be able to see the palace as it was in Georgian times.  Because the building has never been renovated before, the results should be extremely authentic.  In the meantime, you can see the exterior of Kew Palace and its summerhouse, Queen Charlotte’s Cottage, when you visit the fabulous National Botanical Gardens at Kew.  Detailed information about the history and renovation of the Kew palaces is available at www.hrp.org.uk. 

Down the river from Kew, Richmond was an important royal residence in Tudor times, but only the gateway of the palace where Elizabeth I died now remains.  (Some ruins were incorporated into new buildings.)  There are some stately homes such as Syon House, Marble Hill House, and Ham House along the river, if you have time for sites that are not strictly royal.   Finally, you come to Hampton Court Palace.  Henry VIII confiscated it from Cardinal Wolsey, and it remained an important royal palace until George II’s consort Queen Caroline died in 1737.  Historic Royal Palaces calls it “the greatest palace in Britain.” 

Next month we will move beyond London to discuss important royal sites around Britain, starting with Windsor Castle.  See you then!

- Margaret Weatherford