Kensington Palace

The Enchanted palace (untill 2012)
Wild Works’ Enchanted Palace at Kensington Palace is a complete experience for the whole family. Walking from room to room you experience one dark, gothic tale after the other, with some magic thrones and dramatic Vivienne Westwood dresses thrown in.

During the restoration of the Palace the ‘Detectors of Change’ roam the museum to determine if one is a princess or prince, telling stories, and leading you past small wax houses, a Princess and the Pea bed and other impressively creative displays. This feast for the eyes is a must-see for anyone who appreciates drama, glamour and mystery. Oh yes, and it was nice to see the Palace as well ;-)

Wonderful place for tourist,especially in spring and summer.I would like to sat the garden around the palace was more attractive.The palace also got some nice viewing points too.Personally I thought the fee was not realy worth it,but if you want to know more about Diana,it was really worth it.

It’s 12 quid to get in, and that does include an audio tour (many languages available). The audio tour looks like a telephone that you hold up to your ear to listen to the story. Of course, I didn’t want to be bothered with it, so didn’t take it along and that was a mistake.

I had a fantastic time examining all the bits and bobs in the tailor’s rooms, looking at how much work went into every royal garment in the 18th century. The exhibit of Princess Diana’s dresses was okay. I thought that there would be more dresses, it felt like they had about a dozen. The debutante’s exhibit was quite fun, definitely try out the interactive displays (curtsey, walk with a book, use a typewriter, waltz).

The state apartments, particularly the kings, are extraordinarily painted. It makes the rooms look more lavish than their contents really are, it’s quite an interesting effect. Visiting on a gloomy afternoon, you get the feeling that these were perhaps not the warmest or brightest places to live, but their views of the gardens are lovely. These days it would provide endless people watching.

Is it worth 12 quid? It depends on you. The audio tour probably gives more background. If you’re interested just in P. Diana there really isn’t that much info, but if you like to spend a long time gazing at old embroidery or dresses from the 1950’s (I happen to) then it might be worth it.

Afterwards take a walk around the gardens (the sunken garden is currently closed for restoration, though the moorhens didn’t get the message) and try to take a walk around the whole palace (this involves a long walk down past a few embassy residences, but I very much enjoyed that).

Oh, and fyi no photography allowed and mobile phones must be turned off (effectively meaning, you can’t take photos with your phone).

We were disappointed with our trip to Ken Palace. The rooms were quite shabby. These rooms have also been stripped bare and there is little information about their previous use. The display of Princess Diana’s dress is poor. The dresses are on headless manaquins and it hard to envisage diana wearing the dress. A picture of her in the dress beside the manaquin would have helped. The other state rooms were not bad and the staff were helpful if you asked them a question. Not worth the £12 admission fee

Charity, you can make donations, and buy things to support good causes.
I worked here for a month, the manager is nice and friendly.

Absolutely stunning gardens and grounds surrounding one of my favourite palaces.