CRUISING TO ENGLAND:
Richard H. Wagner
1. Introduction, The Stuart Era Rooms
2. The Early Georgians and Queen Victoria
3. Modern Royals, Garden, and Practical Information
Kensington Palace is not just a museum. It is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. However, do not expect to bump into Prince William and Kate while you are roving the corridors or to see where they live their private lives when not attending to their royal duties. The part of the palace where they live is not open to the public.
Instead, the public areas of Kensington Palace reflect the personalities of other royals who have lived at Kensington over the centuries. Indeed, the curators have focused specifically on certain historic figures who had a close association with this palace.
William and Mary
The first of these figures are William and Mary who reigned jointly in the late part of the 17th century. They came to the throne as a result of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, an event that has become somewhat obscure to most people but which had significant consequences that continue to last to this day.
The roots of this revolution go back to the early years of the 17th century. Queen Elizabeth I died without children and was succeeded by the son of her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots. James I believed in the divine right of kings and he passed on this belief to his son Charles I, who attempted to rule as an absolute monarch.
By this time, however, the seeds of democracy had taken root in England and many believed that the monarch should share power with Parliament. These conflicting views erupted into a bloody civil war in the middle of the century. After much fighting, the parliamentary forces led by Oliver Cromwell prevailed. King Charles I was executed and the monarchy was abolished.
But Cromwell and his Puritan followers ruled with an iron hand. As a result, when Cromwell died, there was a popular demand for the restoration of the monarchy and the son of the late king was asked to come to the throne.
Charles II understood that even though he was king, he could not rule in the absolute way his father had sought to do. Rather, he knew that he had to work with Parliament.
When Charles died, he was succeeded by his brother, James II. James had none of his brother's understanding. Like his father, James believed in the divine right of kings and he ruled accordingly. Furthermore, he was a Catholic in an overwhelmingly Protestant country. People feared that James would try and reimpose the “Old Religion.” Mary Tudor's attempt to do that in the last century had earned her the title “Bloody Mary” and people did not want to endure that again. As a result, James soon became very unpopular.
At first, Parliament and the people were willing to endure James' rule. Inasmuch as James was getting on in years, it looked like his unpopular reign would not last long. Moreover, the heir apparent to the throne was James' daughter Mary, who was married to her cousin William, the Stadtholder of Holland. The prospect of this couple ruling Britain was very appealing to many in Britain. As Stadtholder, William was essentially a king who ruled in cooperation with the country's elected officials. William was also a strong Protestant. Furthermore, he was a hero who had gallantly withstood the aggression of that most absolute of monarchs, King Louis XIV of France.
But when James' second wife had a son, the situation changed as the boy became first in line to the throne. It now appeared that James' views on monarchy and religion would continue on in the next generation.
Above: The Queen's Gallery dates to the reign of Queen Mary II.
Below: The Orangery designed by Nicholas Hamksmoor and Sir John Vanbrugh for Queen Anne.
Parliament decided to invite Mary and her husband William to assume the throne. James fled to France and the safety of his cousin Louis XIV. William (III) and Mary (II) became joint monarchs. Since all of this was accomplished without blood shed, it was called the Glorious Revolution. The new monarchs signed the English Bill of Rights, establishing once and for all that the monarch ruled with the elected Parliament.
Kensington Palace is closely associated with William and Mary. Indeed, they were the ones who brought this property into royal hands. When they came to the throne, the monarch's principal residence was Whitehall Palace in the heart of London. However, the dampness and polluted air of the city aggravated William's asthma. Therefore, he began to look for a place to live that was near the capital but still far enough away to avoid its pollution.
Today, Kensington Palace is in downtown London. But in William's time, it was in the country. A substantial Jacobean house then known as Nottingham House was purchased and the King instructed Sir Christopher Wren to improve the house to make it suitable for the monarchs and their court.
While Wren and later Nicholas Hawksmoor, expanded the house, they did not turn it into a grand palace. If you compare it to the Banqueting House built by Charles I as part of Whitehall Palace, Kenisngton looks positively austere. Whereas the interior of the Banqueting House is of soaring classical design with paintings by Sir Peter Paul Ruebens on the ceiling, the rooms at Kensington that relate to this period are relatively small, paneled with dark wood and are often dimly lit.
This reflects the personalities of the new monarchs. Kensington was their private home, for grand occasions they had Whitehall and Hampton Court. In addition, they were not trying to persuade anyone that they had been selected by God to rule. Unlike their predecessor who was fond of elaborate ceremonies, the King and Queen preferred to dine by themselves. You get the impression that despite the elaborate wigs and clothes that people wore in those days, William and Mary were somewhat down to earth.
Mary died of smallpox at Kensington Palace in 1694. William continued on until 1702.
The next personality associated with Kensington was Queen Anne. Anne was Mary's sister and since William and Mary had no children, Anne followed them to the throne.
Anne liked Kensington and so she ordered that more rooms be added and made various changes to the gardens that William had planted in order to bring them more into line with English rather than Dutch tastes.
The new monarch was dominated by her best friend Sarah Churchill. Whereas Anne was not very bright, awkward and unattractive, Sarah had a shrewd intelligence and was one of the beauties of the day. Sarah guided the Queen in all matters including policy and appointment of officials.
Dominating the times was war with France. Louis XIV sought to dominate Europe and a coalition of Protestant powers opposed him. Leading Britain's army was Sarah's husband, John Churchill, who was a brilliant general. In a series of victories culminating in the Battle of Blenheim, Churchill defeated the French. As a thank you, Anne made Churchill the Duke of Marlbourgh and built him Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.
Compared to Blenheim, Kensington Palace is very plain. Whereas Sarah's house is elaborately Baroque, Anne's is modest and relatively simple. This reflects the personalities of the owners. Sarah sought to convey the greatness of her family while Anne was more interested in the domestic comfort of her family.
Over time, Sarah shifted from offering advice and guidance to her friend to bullying and cajoling an inferior. But that is not the way subjects behave towards their queen and so one day at Kensington, Anne and Sarah met behind closed doors in the Queen's Closet. There is no record of what was said but Sarah left the meeting without the offices that she had held never to return to Kenisngton again.
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Click here for our article on Windsor Castle
Click here for our article on Leeds Castle
Click here for our article on the New Forest
Click here for our article on visiting Exbury Gardens
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Cruise destination - England - Visiting Kensington Palace - page 1