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A house in Kensington
In the summer of 1689 William III and Mary II bought Nottingham House, a Jacobean house in the village of Kensington, from the Earl of Nottingham. Sir Christopher Wren enlarged it, and the court moved in shortly before Christmas that year.


Georgian splendour
Queen Anne had Wren complete the extensions and added the Orangery in 1704. Between 1722 and 1727 William Kent decorated the state rooms for George I, among them the Cupola Room and the paintings of the King’s Staircase.
Victoria’s childhood home
Princess Victoria was born at the palace on 24 May 1819 and grew up here. In 1837 she learned of her accession at Kensington and held her first privy council in the Red Saloon. The State Rooms opened to the public on 24 May 1899, her eightieth birthday.



