Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
Moments in a longer story.
Selected milestones in the history of Kensington Palace.
On this page
A house, a palace and its rooms
These dates describe the place you can learn about here. They are not a company timeline for Apollonaut.
-
1605
A Jacobean house
Sir George Coppin builds a house in the village of Kensington.
-
1689
A royal purchase
William III and Mary II buy Nottingham House; Sir Christopher Wren enlarges it.
-
1694
Mary II
Queen Mary dies at the palace.
-
1704
The Orangery
Queen Anne’s Orangery is built.
-
1722–1727
William Kent
Kent decorates the state rooms for George I.
-
1760
George II
George II dies at the palace.
-
24 May 1819
A princess is born
Princess Victoria is born at Kensington Palace.
-
1837
Queen Victoria
Victoria learns of her accession and holds her first privy council here.
-
24 May 1899
Open to the public
The State Rooms open to visitors.
-
14 October 1940
The Blitz
An incendiary bomb damages the palace.
-
1998
A charity
Historic Royal Palaces, which cares for the State Rooms, becomes an independent charity.
Follow the stories behind the dates
A timeline is a beginning. The longer history introduces the people and places; the sources below provide further context.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.