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Kensington Leasing

Did You Know?

Kensington Palace has been a royal residence for over 300 years and is now the London home to Prince William, his wife Catherine Middleton, and their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Although their residence is private, a large part of Kensington Palace is open to the public to explore the lives of past royal residents and visit the historic rooms that have shaped a nation.  Below you’ll find 10 top facts about Kensington Palace.

Kensington is an upscale area with stately Victorian buildings and embassies. Tourists come to see dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum, hands-on displays at the Science Museum, and period furnishings at Kensington Palace. The grand Royal Albert Hall hosts concerts from classical to pop. Well-to-do shoppers frequent chic boutiques on Kensington High Street and antiques stores on Kensington Church Street.

Queen Alexandria Victoria was born on 24 May 1819 at Kensington Palace in Kensington Gardens. She was the only child and daughter of Prince Edward Duke of Kent and Strathearn. Queen Victoria spent her entire time in the palace until she was 18 when she became the queen.

Kensington Garden was bought by King William III because of his asthmatic condition. The palace then was a two-story building and so Sir Christopher Wren, one of the most celebrated English architects, astronomers, and mathematicians, the designer of 54 London Churches, was tasked to renovate the palace into the today’s magnificent palace.

During World War I, people were encouraged to turn their gardens into vegetable patches to support the war effort. In Kensington Gardens, this was different because during World War I the garden was turned into a small slice of the Western Front to help the soldiers to get to grips with the trench construction.

Apart from partly opening the Kensington Gardens to the public, also the entertainment sector is welcome to shoot video clips for their movies in the gardens. A total of 6 movies have been shot in the Gardens. Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of Apes was shot in 1894, A Fish called Wanda- 1988, Damage- 1992, Finding Neverland-2004, Bridget Johns: The Edge of Reason- 2004, and The Postcard Killings 2020.

The Kensington name came from Anthony Palmer, an English merchant from Barbados, in the early 1730s. Palmer purchased what was called the Fairman Estate, about 190 acres in Northern Liberties Township, just north of the City of Philadelphia.