Kensington Palace

History

King William III and Queen Mary II

Kensington Palace was originally a two-storey Jacobean mansion built by Sir George Coppin in 1605 in the village of Kensington.

Shortly after William and Mary assumed the throne as joint monarchs in 1689, they began searching for a residence better suited for the comfort of the asthmatic William. Whitehall Palace was too near the River Thames, with its fog and floods, for William's fragile health.

In the summer of 1689, William and Mary bought the property, then known as Nottingham House, from the Secretary of State Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 7th Earl of Winchilsea, for £20,000. They instructed Sir Christopher Wren, Surveyor of the King's Works, to begin an immediate expansion of the house. In order to save time and money, Wren kept the structure intact and added a three-storey pavilion at each of the four corners, providing more accommodation for the King and Queen, and their attendants. The Queen's Apartments were in the north-west pavilion and the King's in the south-east.

Wren re-oriented the house to face west, building north and south wings to flank the approach, made into a proper cour d'honneur that was entered through an archway surmounted by a clock tower. The palace was surrounded by straight cut solitary lawns, and formal stately gardens, laid out with paths and flower beds at right angles, in the Dutch garden fashion. The royal court took residence in the palace shortly before Christmas 1689. For the next seventy years, Kensington Palace was the favoured residence of British monarchs, although the official seat of the Court was and remains at St. James's Palace, which has not been the actual royal residence in London since the 17th century.

Additional improvements soon after included Queen Mary's extension of her apartments by building the Queen's Gallery. After a fire in 1691, the King's Staircase was rebuilt in marble and a Guard Chamber was constructed, facing the foot of the stairs. William had constructed the South Front, to the design of Nicholas Hawksmoor, which included the Kings' Gallery where he hung many works from his picture collection. Mary II died of smallpox in the palace in 1694. In 1702, William suffered a fall from a horse at Hampton Court and was brought to Kensington Palace, where he died shortly afterwards from pneumonia.

Queen Anne

After William III's death, the palace became the residence of Queen Anne. She had Christopher Wren complete the extensions that William and Mary had begun, resulting in the section known as the Queen's Apartments, with the Queen's Entrance, and the plainly decorated Wren designed staircase, that featured shallow steps so Anne could walk down gracefully. The apartment complex was primarily used by the Queen to give access between the private apartments and gardens.

Queen Anne's most notable contribution to the palace were the gardens. She commissioned the Hawksmoor-designed Orangery, modified by John Vanbrugh, that was built for her in 1704. The level of decoration of the interior, including carved detail by Grinling Gibbons, reflects its intended use, not just as a greenhouse, but as a place for entertaining. A magnificent 12-hectare (30-acre) baroque parterre, with sections of clipped scrolling designs punctuated by trees formally clipped into cones, was laid out by Henry Wise, the royal gardener.

Kensington Palace was the setting of the final argument between Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and Queen Anne. The Duchess, who was known for being outspoken and manipulative, was jealous of the attention the Queen was giving to Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham. Anne's husband, Prince George of Denmark, had died at Kensington Palace in October 1708, and the Duchess's insensitive acts afterwards compounded the tension. Their friendship came to an abrupt end on 6 April 1710, with the two seeing each other for the last time after an argument in the Queen's Closet. Queen Anne died at Kensington Palace on 1 August 1714.

King George I and King George II

George I spent lavishly on new royal apartments, creating three new state rooms known as the Privy Chamber, the Cupola Room and the Withdrawing Room. He hired the-then unknown William Kent in 1722 to decorate the state rooms, which he did with elaborately painted trompe-l'œil ceilings and walls. The Cupola Room was Kent's first commission for the King. The octagonal coffering in the domed ceiling was painted in gold and blue, and terminated in a flat panel decorated with the Star of the Order of the Garter. The walls and woodwork were painted brown and gold to contrast with the white marble pilasters, doorways and niches which were surmounted with gilded statuary.

George I was pleased with his work, and between 1722, and 1727, Kent oversaw the decoration and picture hanging for all of the royal apartments at Kensington Palace. Kent's final commission was the King's Grand Staircase which he painted with 45 intriguing courtiers from the Georgian court, including the King's Turkish servants Mahomet and Mustapha, Peter 'the wild boy', along with himself and his mistress. King George I enlarged the palace with the addition of an apartment, built on the north-west side, to house his mistress, Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal.

The last reigning monarch to use Kensington Palace was George II, who did not undertake any major structural changes to the palace during his reign, and left the running of the palace to his wife Caroline of Ansbach. At the request of the Queen, Charles Bridgeman, successor to Henry Wise as royal gardener, swept away the outmoded parterres and redesigned Kensington Gardens in a form that is still recognisable today: his remaining features are the Serpentine, the basin called the Round Pond, and the Broad Walk. After the death of his wife, George II neglected many rooms and the palace fell into disrepair. King George II died at Kensington Palace on 25 October 1760.

Notable palace residents

With the accession of George III in 1760, Kensington Palace was only used for minor royalty. The sixth son of George III, Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, was allocated apartments in the south-west corner of Kensington Palace in 1805 known as Apartment 1. He was interested in the arts and science and amassed a huge library that filled ten rooms and comprised over fifty thousand volumes. He had a large number of clocks, and a variety of singing birds that were free to fly around his apartments. He was elected as president of the Royal Society and gave receptions in his apartments at Kensington Palace to men of science. The expense they incurred induced him to resign the presidency, as he preferred to employ the money in making additions to his library.

The Duke of Sussex caused quite a scandal when he married twice in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act 1772, because it had not been approved by the King. His second wife, Cecilia Underwood, Duchess of Inverness, was never titled or recognised as the Duchess of Sussex. However, she was created Duchess of Inverness in her own right in 1840. The Duke died at Kensington Palace in 1843. As he had lived beyond his means and amassed substantial debts, his possessions, including the library, were sold after his death. The Duchess of Inverness continued to reside at Kensington Palace until her death in 1873.

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III, was allocated two floors of rooms in the south-east corner of the palace, below the State Apartments, which he renovated for his use. The apartments were next to his near-blind sister Princess Sophia. His daughter, Alexandrina Victoria, was born on 24 May 1819, and her christening conducted in the Cupola Room the following month. The Duke of Kent and Strathearn died nine months after the birth of his daughter.

She grew up in the confines of the palace in an unhappy and lonely childhood as a result of the Kensington System adopted by her mother, Victoria, Duchess of Kent, and the domineering Sir John Conroy, her mother's comptroller of the household. Princess Sophia fell under the sway of Conroy, who took advantage of her senility and blindness. She frequently served as his spy on the Kensington household, as well as on her two elder brothers. Conroy squandered most of her money until she died in 1848, at Kensington Palace.

In 1837, Princess Alexandrina Victoria was awakened to be told that her uncle, King William IV, had died and that she was now queen. She took the regnal name of Victoria and held her first privy council in the Red Saloon at the palace. The Queen promptly moved to Buckingham Palace. She granted rooms in Kensington Palace to her family and retired retainers, who included the Duke and Duchess of Teck, parents of Queen Mary (great-grandmother of King Charles III), who was born at Kensington Palace on 26 May 1867. In 1873, Princess Louise (then Marchioness of Lorne, later Duchess of Argyll), resided in the apartment with her husband, the Marquess of Lorne (later the Duke of Argyll), departing after he was appointed Governor General of Canada for Rideau Hall.

Interior and grounds

Kensington Palace contains public and private apartments and residences within the building and its grounds. The palace houses a total of fifty residents. Apart from members of the royal family, it also hosts members of the military, courtiers, staff, and citizens who pay market rent.

King and Queen's State Apartments

The King's and Queen's State Apartments are state rooms and private apartments historically used by various monarchs and consorts. The King's State Apartments were used for diplomatic audiences and meetings, described as "opulent" and "surprisingly sparse". The Queen's State Apartments were a domestic residence typically used by consorts to live in and entertain. The state apartments were first opened to the public in 1899. The museum closed intermittently during the conflicts of the First and Second World Wars before reopening permanently in 1949.

The entryway to the King's State Apartments is marked by the King's Staircase, decorated with a painting by William Kent depicting George I's royal court, completed in 1724. The apartment possesses several reception rooms. The Presence Chamber features a limewood fireplace where the monarch received ministers. The Privy Chamber was one of Queen Caroline's favourite entertaining spaces. The Cupola Room has been described as the "most splendidly decorated room in the palace", also by Kent.

The King's Drawing Room, where courtiers would come "in search of power and patronage", features a copy of Venus and Cupid by Giorgio Vasari, which Caroline attempted to have removed to no avail. The King's Gallery, built for William III, is decorated with red accents and golden ornaments, used for exercise and displaying paintings. Featuring numerous works by Kent, it houses Charles I at the Hunt by Anthony van Dyck.

The Queen's State Apartments consist of the rooms where Mary II and later royal consorts resided. The Queen's Staircase is "deliberately plainer" than its counterpart, accessible to the gardens. The Queen's Gallery, built in 1693, was previously filled with Turkish carpets and oriental artifacts, and was designed as a place for Mary to fulfil "simple pastimes such as walking, reading, and needlework." The Queen's Dining Room is where Mary and William would take their meals together in private, featuring 17th-century panelling. The Queen's Drawing Room features décor from China and Japan, and features William and Mary's intertwined monogram carved into the crown moulding. Mary's bedroom, where she entertained friends, is included in the apartments.

Apartments 1 and 1A

Apartment 1 today occupies the south-west corner of Kensington Palace, taking in much of Sir Christopher Wren's south range. Prior to the mid-1950's this Apartment spanned the parts of the Palace today known as Apartment 1 and Apartment 1A. Comprising roughly forty inter-connected rooms arranged over four storeys, the principal elevations of the original Apartment faced Kensington Gardens and Palace Green. Although designated an "apartment", the accommodation is effectively a substantial terraced house built around a section of Wren's Stone Gallery and reached by its own porte-cochère.

The apartment was created for Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, who took up residence at Apartment 1 in 1805. Following the Duke of Sussex's death in 1843, his morganatic widow Cecilia Underwood, Duchess of Inverness retained the rooms until her own death in 1873. The Duke of Sussex's tenure was marked by the creation of an extensive library that eventually filled several chambers of the suite. By the end of the Duke's life, one wing had entirely been given over to a "Divinity Room" holding more than 5,000 Bibles, and corridors rang hourly with the chimes of the duke's extensive clock collection.

The next occupant of the Apartment was Queen Victoria's daughter Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, who combined smaller rooms to create larger saloons and converted one of the Duke's libraries into an art studio. Increasingly reclusive in her later life, Princess Louise continued to occupy Apartment 1 until her death in 1939. The apartment was left vacant and neglected for the following 15 years.

In 1954 the widowed Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent was granted part of the original Apartment 1 as a permanent grace-and-favour residence in London. During their marriage the London home of Princess Marina and Prince George, Duke of Kent had been No. 3 Belgrave Square. After Prince George's death in 1942, Princess Marina often stayed with her mother-in-law Queen Mary at the latter's London Residence at Marlborough House; however the old Queen's death in 1953 had created a need for Marina to have a London base on her own.

As the original Apartment 1 was deemed too large for Marina's needs, its eastern half was divided to create Apartment 1A. The budget for the conversion and renovation works was budgeted at £80,000 but ultimately cost £127,000. During the works, Marina was reportedly on the verge of removing an original Wren staircase inside Apartment 1, finding it "too much like a servant's staircase", and too narrow for descending in full evening dress; the staircase was preserved after palace officials intervened to prevent its destruction. Princess Marina and her three children took up residence in October 1955, and Apartment 1 continued to be Princess Marina's home until her death in 1968.

Apartment 2

Apartment 2 was a spacious suite adjoining the rooms that once housed the Duke of Sussex and, later, Princess Louise (now designated Apartment 1A). In 1798 the several unused and vacant parts of the palace, located immediately below the former State Apartments in the south-east corner of the main palace complex, were merged into an apartment which was granted to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn. The Apartment was where his only child Princess Victoria of Kent was born in 1819.

After the Duke of Kent's death, his widow the Duchess of Kent continued to live in this Apartment until Victoria's accession in 1837. Queen Victoria later assigned the apartment to her cousin Princess Mary Adelaide, Duchess of Teck in 1867; a ground-floor plan reproduced in her 1900 biography shows that the suite then occupied much of the ground floor of the south-east corner of the Palace, which now forms part of section of the Palace containing the State Rooms. The Tecks' first child Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (later Queen Mary) was born here shortly after the family's arrival at the Palace; the Tecks later surrendered the apartment in 1883.

From 1896 this part of the Palace was occupied by Queen Victoria's youngest daughter, Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom following the death of her husband, Prince Henry of Battenberg. Palace servants later recalled evenings when Beatrice and her neighbour Princess Louise could be heard shouting at each other through the adjoining wall of their respective Apartments. Beatrice remained in residence until her death in 1944.

Apartment 4

Located in the north-west corner of the Clock Court, Apartment 4 was occupied by Maria Chaine from 1867 to 1915. Chaine had been granted the largely honorary post of State Housekeeper of the Palace, and was a daughter of Charles Beaumont Phipps, who had served as Prince Albert's private secretary from 1847 until the Prince's death in 1861. Another of Phipps' daughters, Harriet Phipps, who had served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria, resided in Apartment 7 until her own death in 1922.

Following Chaine's death in 1915, Apartment 4 was then occupied by Queen Victoria's widowed daughter-in-law The Dowager Duchess of Albany from 1917 until her death in 1922. The Clock House Apartment subsequently was used as the London Home for the late Duchess of Albany's daughter Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone from 1923 until her own death in 1981. The apartment was severely damaged by a fire during the Blitz in October 1940. In her later years, it was reportedly not uncommon for Princess Alice to answer the door of her Kensington Palace apartment herself. Apartment 4 remained uninhabited for the following ten years, and subsequent structural repairs were undertaken at a cost of nearly £1,000,000. The apartment which Princess Alice had occupied had been split into multiple separate residences in the 1990s.

Apartment 4A was occupied by Sir John Tiltman, Director of Property Services, until 2004, and later by General Sir Richard Dannatt during the late 2000s to early 2010s.

In 2002 the "Tower Flat" was occupied by Major Nicholas Barne, Private Secretary to The Duke of Gloucester.

Apartment 4B was occupied by the Royal Household's Directory of Property Services Sir Michael Peat (later Keeper of the Privy Purse and Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales) from the late 1990s to 2011. The apartment was also reportedly later occupied as a temporary residence by Prince Harry of Wales during the early 2010s. Sources conflict regarding the size of Apartment 4B, which has been described both as a modest one-bedroom apartment, and also as a "six-bedroom apartment".

Apartment 5

Located in the section of the Palace situated south of the Princess Court and north of the Clock Court, Apartment 5 forms part of a suite of rooms which originally comprised a much larger apartment which included Apartment 10 and the rooms beneath Queen Mary's Gallery. This large apartment was occupied by Caroline, Princess of Wales from 1808 to 1814, and later by Princess Sophia from 1820 until her death in 1848. The rooms which would later form part of Apartment 5 were later merged into Apartment 2, from which they were subsequently subdivided in 1884; they then became the home of Antoinette Moncrieff until her death in 1937.

In late 1937 Apartment 5 was subsequently granted to The Hon. Sir Derek Keppel and his wife Bridget, Lady Keppel. Sir Derek had served as Master of the Household from 1912 until 1936, and was a brother-in-law of King Edward VII's mistress Alice Keppel. The Keppels were forced to evacuate the Palace as a result of extensive bombing damage in 1940; Sir Derek died in 1944, and Lady Keppel died in 1951.

Apartment 6

Apartment 6, located on the western side of the Prince of Wales's Court, has long been one of the smallest grace-and-favour apartments in Kensington Palace. This apartment was the home of the Palace Chaplain from 1830 to 1901, and then Queen Victoria's Dresser during the early 20th century. No. 6 was later joined to the neighbouring Apartment 7, home of the Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven, from 1925 to 1950.

By 2002 No. 6 had been split into several smaller flats; Apartment 6 was reportedly occupied by Harold Brown, Butler to Princess Margaret. Apartment 6A was used by Tony Rabey, Butler to The Prince of Wales, whilst Apartment 6C did not have a permanent occupant, but occasionally used by The Prince of Wales' Chef and Drivers.

Apartment 7

Located in the north-west corner of the main palace complex, the part of the Palace which would become Apartment 7 formed part of the Kensington Palace Chapel during the 19th century; the chapel was decommissioned in 1901. Following this, a false ceiling was inserted to allow the first-floor apartments to be enlarged. This apartment was the home of former Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Victoria Harriet Phipps. Following Phipps' death in 1922, No. 7 became the home of Victoria Mountbatten, Dowager Marchioness of Milford Haven, who was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria as well as maternal grandmother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. No. 7 was one of the Apartments severely damaged by a fire on 14 October 1940 during the Blitz.

Lt. Philip Mountbatten and his cousin David Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven lived with their grandmother in her Kensington Palace home during the three months prior to his wedding to Princess Elizabeth in November 1947; it was from Apartment 7 that Philip embarked to Westminster Abbey on the morning of his wedding day.

After Lady Milford Haven's death in 1950, use of her apartment was given to Mary, Duchess of Beaufort and her husband Henry Somerset, 10th Duke of Beaufort in 1953. Through her father Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge, the Duchess of Beaufort had been born Princess Mary of Teck, rendering her both the niece and namesake of Queen Mary, as well as a first-cousin once-removed of the-then Queen Elizabeth II. The Duke of Beaufort was a long-serving Member of the Royal Household, serving as Master of the Horse from 1936 to 1978. Apartment 7 continued to be their home until the late 1970s; following the Duke's retirement in 1978 much of the artwork and furniture from their Kensington Palace apartment was sold via auction in May 1979. The Duke and Duchess of Beaufort died in 1984 and 1987 respectively. Apartment 7 next became the home of Official Office of Diana, Princess of Wales following her divorce from Charles, Prince of Wales in 1996.

Apartment 8

One of the earliest recorded occupants of the section of the palace now known as Apartment 8 was Lt Gen William Wynyard, who was granted use of this suite of rooms from 1792 until his death in 1819. Following the death of long-serving Cabinet Minister Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville in 1892, his widow Castilia, Dowager Countess Granville was offered a suite of Apartments at Kensington Palace by Queen Victoria in 1892, reportly in recognition of her husband's significant public service. Lady Granville retained the suite of rooms, which would later be known as Apartment 8, until her death in 1938.

The now-vacant No. 8 was soon granted to the-then King George V's cousin Lady Patricia Ramsey (formerly Princess Patricia of Connaught) in July 1939. No. 8 was amongst those damaged by fire in October 1940 during the Blitz.

Apartment 9

Lady Bertha Dawkins, a long-serving Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Mary was granted a grace-and-favour apartment at the Palace in 1926.

By 1940 Lady Bertha's Apartment was known as Apartment 9; this was the site where a bomb hit the Palace during the Blitz in 1940, which caused significant fire damage to the complex; Lady Bertha died in 1943 before repairs to her apartment could be completed. In 1954 The Queen granted Apartment 9 to the recently retired Master of the Household Sir Piers Legh; however, before Legh had the opportunity to move in to the Apartment both he and his wife Lady Legh died within a few hours of each other on 16 and 17 October 1955. In 1966 approximately £42,000 was spent on roof repairs at Apartment 9, which had reportedly been unoccupied for several years.

Between 1975 and 1981, Apartments 8 and 9 underwent substantial restoration after prolonged postwar neglect. Originally left in a derelict state with collapsed ceilings and structural water damage, the apartments had been patched with corrugated roofing and remained unoccupied for decades. The renovation aimed to restore the Georgian character of the north-west wing while updating it for modern habitation.

The project, which cost £900,000 and spanned six years, was complicated by the absence of architectural plans. Restoration relied on historical photographs, including a 1928 Country Life article and government records documenting bomb damage during the Second World War. Some original features, such as William Kent plasterwork, had been destroyed or removed, requiring reproduction or simplification of decorative elements. Despite these challenges, the main staircase and other Georgian-style interiors were reconstructed to a high standard, preserving the building's historic aesthetic.

During its use as the Wales' London residence, the two-room nursery covered the entirety of the top floor. Other spaces included two reception rooms: a drawing room doubling as Diana's office, a sitting room with a television, and a formal dining room. The residence had access to a helicopter pad, and several outdoor gardens, including one on the roof and a greenhouse where the family spent many hours. Diana decorated the residence in "bold patterns and lush fabrics", as well as floral wallpaper and a mix of modern and antique furniture, upholstered with golden lacquer. From 1997, the apartments have been used as office space for various groups, charities, and staff.

Apartment 10

Apartment 10 is a residence situated in the north-east section of the palace, near the public gardens. Apartment 10 forms part of a suite of rooms which originally comprised a much larger apartment which included Apartment 5 and the rooms beneath Queen Mary's Gallery. This apartment was used by Caroline, Princess of Wales from 1808 to 1814, and later by Princess Sophia from 1820 until her death in 1848.

The three-storey apartment holds five bedrooms and five reception rooms. The Apartment was the home of Queen Victoria's grandson Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Carisbrooke from 1956 until his death in 1960. The Apartment was later occupied by Princess Margaret and her husband during the early days of their marriage whilst the larger Apartment 1A underwent extensive renovations; the Princess described No. 10 as "the doll's house". The apartment has been the London home of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent since 1978.

Wren House

Named for architect Christopher Wren, Wren House residence is near a cluster of cottages on the grounds of the palace, located north of the main building. It has five bedrooms and five reception rooms. The cottage covers two storeys, and has been noted as one of the more modest residences within the palace. Wren House is said to have the "best view" of the palace's walled gardens.

Nottingham Cottage

Nottingham Cottage is a residence near a cluster of cottages on the grounds of the palace, located north of the main building. Described as a "cosy property", it contains two bedrooms, two reception rooms, and a small garden.

Ivy Cottage

Ivy Cottage is a residence near a cluster of cottages on the grounds of the palace, located north of the main building. The cottage holds three bedrooms. While in residence, Princess Eugenie was reported to have renovated the residence and "brightened the cottage up with lots of pops of colour" and various art pieces.

Old Stables

The Old Stables is a residence near a cluster of cottages on the grounds of the palace, located north of the main building. During Sir Alan Lascelles' occupation, it was described as "lavishly decorated". During the residence of Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester and Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester, the house was decorated with "old wooden furniture" and "bright turquoise walls".

King's Kitchen Cottages and the Upper Lodge

The King's Kitchen Cottages and Upper Lodge make up staff residences.

Chapel

The Kensington Palace Chapel was built in the 1830s, used for private family services and occasions. Described as the "heart" of the palace, it was converted into residential space before being restored as a chapel by a conservation company in 2002. The space is approximately 9 metres long, including a "variety of antique features" and oak wall panelling. Renaissance era art pieces from the Royal Collection adorn the room, alongside a 19th-century brass hung chandelier. Family events that have taken place at the chapel include the 2004 wedding of Lady Davina Windsor, and the 2015 christening of Isabella Windsor, daughter of Lord Frederick Windsor and Lady Frederick Windsor.

As a tourist attraction/other uses

By the end of the 19th century, the State Rooms were severely neglected. The brickwork was decaying and the woodwork was infested with dry rot. Calls were made for the palace to be demolished, but Queen Victoria declared that "while she lived, the palace in which she was born should not be destroyed". In 1897, Parliament was persuaded to pay for the restoration which was completed two years later. The State Rooms were opened to the public on the Queen's birthday, 24 May 1899. This began the palace's dual role as a private home to royalty and a public museum.

Queen Mary was instrumental in opening the State Apartments as a temporary location for the London Museum, from 1911 to 1914. The State Apartments were filled with showcases, some containing hundreds of objects including 18th-century costumes and dresses worn by Queen Victoria, Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary. The museum returned from 1950 to 1976 before it moved to its next home on London Wall.

In 1989 care for the Kensington Palace State Rooms was contracted out to Historic Royal Palaces Agency, a non-departmental public body, on behalf of the Department of the Environment. Historic Royal Palaces Agency became an independent charity in 1998 called Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), which is dependent on charitable giving for management of the site. Under HRP the Kensington Palace State Rooms underwent a two-year, £12 million renovation, underwritten with contributions from the Heritage Lottery Fund as well as other public and private donations. New uniforms for staff were designed by Stuart Stockdale at Jaeger.

The re-opening of the palace occurred in time for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2012. The grounds of the palace were renovated with enhancements including eliminating railings, fences, and shrubs that had undermined royal gardener Charles Bridgeman's original landscaping. Two new public gardens to the south and east of the palace were installed that connect the property to Kensington Gardens. Visitors now can choose four different routes throughout the palace that offer exhibits incorporating cutting-edge digital presentations, interactive experiences, and audio sequences that bring to life the gatherings of gowns, antique furniture, and other memorabilia of notable residents of the palace. These include William and Mary in the Queen's State Apartments, the court of George I and II in the King's State Apartments, and the life of Queen Victoria in the rooms most associated with her.