Between classes today, I went on my own to Kensington Palace. I have been to the gardens multiple times to see the Peter Pan statue, but I have yet to go to the palace. Having purchased a Historical Palaces Membership, I can go for “free” – for a total membership fee of £45 – so I figured it would make for an informative and enjoyable afternoon.
Queen Victoria’s childhood home was far from anything I had expected. Unlike the medieval castles of old, Kensington Palace was rather modernized. It was also quite commercialized; I do not know why I expected anything less, seeing as it is such a tourist site. Still, I was shocked at not only how limited of an area you were permitted to go through in the palace, but how the rooms were set up. To be fair, I only learned upon my arrival that the Royal Family still uses the palace as a home, so I completely respected not having all of it exposed to the public.
By far, the best exhibit was the one about Victoria and Albert. This encompassed most of the second floor, and included her Red Salon and her childhood playroom among others. So much of the artifacts preserved in the palace were used directly by the queen. What struck me the most was how tiny both her and Prince Albert’s clothes were – both of them were so regal, yet so small! I have always said that I was born in the wrong era…
Present in the palace was also an exhibit focusing on the changing fashions of the royals over the decades spanning the ‘50s to the ‘80s. On display were dresses worn by Princess Margaret, Princess Diana, and Queen Elizabeth herself. It was eye-opening to see how drastically styles changed over a mere 30 year period. Elizabeth’s dresses were my favorite; classy, stylish, with beautiful embroidery or crystal beading. They were stunning. Margaret’s dresses were a little more avant-garde, to be expected from such a fashion icon. What I found hilarious was a full “Indian-style” outfit, turban included. Apparently these were popularized by The Beatles in the ‘60s, but I could not get over the pictures of Princess Margaret casually vacationing in this regalia. Lastly, Princess Diana’s dresses were displayed. It was quite poignant for me, someone who has idolized Diana since I was little but never lived when she did. All I could think of, though, was how no one else could have pulled off the fashion that she did. The whole dropped waist and rhinestones look can only be pulled off by someone as statuesque and beautiful as she was. While rather unconventional, I loved how unique this exhibit was, and how it allowed one to experience history through an entirely new lens.
