Kensington Palace

What it is

Kensington Palace is a royal residence on the western edge of Kensington Gardens, half of it open as a historic house and half of it still lived in. Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that cares for the building, describes it as a modest suburban villa called Nottingham House until William III and Mary II bought it in 1689 as a retreat from the smoke and damp of Whitehall. Sir Christopher Wren was commissioned to draw the plans, but Mary took charge of the work herself, visiting to hurry the builders along; in November 1689 a newly built wall collapsed minutes after one of her tours, killing a workman. The King and Queen moved in on Christmas Eve of that year. Georgian monarchs enlarged and painted the palace, Queen Victoria was born here in 1819 and held her first Privy Council in the Red Saloon on the morning of 20 June 1837, and after she left for Buckingham Palace the building filled with minor royals until it was nicknamed the 'Aunt Heap'. Kensington Palace is today the official London residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The paying route covers the King's State Apartments, Victoria's childhood rooms and a changing exhibition; the gardens around it are free and need no ticket.

Checked 2026-08-26 · Source

What's inside

The paid route at Kensington Palace runs through the King's State Apartments, the rooms William Kent adorned for George I and which Historic Royal Palaces says retain the refined eighteenth-century appearance he gave them. Kent's most lasting work here is the King's Staircase, painted with life-size figures from George I's court: Peter 'the Wild Boy' from Hanover, the Ottoman gentleman Mehmet von Königstreu with his wife Marie and his compatriot Mustapha, and Queen Anne's favourite physician Dr John Arbuthnot. The Cupola Room is where the infant Alexandrina Victoria was baptised. Victoria: A Royal Childhood occupies the rooms in which she was born and raised and where she was schooled under the regime her mother called the Kensington System; David Wilkie's painting of her first Privy Council still hangs in the palace. The Jewel Room shows gems Prince Albert commissioned for her. In the Pigott Galleries, the exhibition The Last Princesses of Punjab, on the life of Sophia Duleep Singh, runs until 8 November 2026 and is included in palace admission. An audio guide is included in the ticket price and is offered in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish and British Sign Language. Outside, the gardens are free: the Sunken Garden with the statue of Diana, Princess of Wales, entered by the Sunken Garden Gate, and Queen Anne's Orangery of 1705, designed by Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor with details added by John Vanbrugh and Grinling Gibbons carvings inside. Princess Louise's statue of her mother stands on the West Front, unveiled in 1893 for the Golden Jubilee.

Checked 2026-08-26 · Source

How long to spend

Historic Royal Palaces answers this itself: asked how long to allow, the palace's own FAQ page says visitors may stay as long as they like within opening hours and recommends around two to three hours to complete a visit. The duration recorded for Kensington Palace on this site is 120 minutes, the lower end of that operator range, because the Queen's State Apartments are out of the route until spring 2027 and the paid rooms are correspondingly fewer. Two hours covers the King's State Apartments, the Victoria rooms, the Jewel Room and the current exhibition at an unhurried pace. Add time deliberately for the free gardens, which are not part of the 120 minutes: the Sunken Garden, the Diana statue and the walk to the Orangery are easily another 30 to 45 minutes, and they keep their own closing time. Visitors who book a timed slot should also count the security scanner at the entrance, which every visitor passes through, including those going only to the shop and cafe.

Checked 2026-08-26 · Source

Season and crowds

Historic Royal Palaces publishes Kensington Palace's hours by date rather than as a standing timetable, so the figures below are the week that was read. For the week commencing 24 August 2026 the palace opened 10:00 to 18:00 every day, Monday to Sunday, with no closed day. The same page gives two different last-entry times and both are printed here rather than reconciled: the daily listing carries the note 'Last entry 17:00', while a separate panel headed 'Last entry time' on the same page states that last entry is at 17:30 for all visitors, ticket-holders and shop-and-cafe visitors alike. Check the date of an intended visit on that page before travelling. The Sunken Garden ran 10:00 to 17:45 that week with last entry 17:40, and the Orangery Restaurant kept different hours from the palace on two days, closing at 15:00 on Friday 28 August and at 14:00 on Saturday 29 August. Kensington Palace is not one of London's crowded giants: the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions recorded 429,025 visits in 2025, ranking it 105th among ALVA member attractions and up 4 per cent on the previous year, against 2,817,852 for the Tower of London in the same table.

Checked 2026-08-26 · Source

Tickets

Kensington Palace is a paid attraction and Historic Royal Palaces publishes two price bands. For entry between 26 March and 8 November 2026, when the ticket also includes The Last Princesses of Punjab exhibition, the adult rate for ages 18 to 64 is 24.70 GBP without the optional donation and 27.20 GBP with it. A child ticket, for ages 5 to 15 accompanied by an adult, is 12.40 GBP or 13.70 GBP with donation, as is the 16 to 17 young person ticket; children under 5 enter free and need no ticket. Seniors aged 65 and over, full-time students aged 18 and over and disabled concessions pay 20.00 GBP, or 22.00 GBP with donation. A carer or companion accompanying a disabled visitor is free. Groups of 15 or more pay 22.80 GBP per person. From 11 November 2026 the prices drop to 19.00 GBP adult, 9.50 GBP child and young person, 15.20 GBP senior, student and disabled concession, and 17.50 GBP per person for groups. Anyone receiving Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance can claim 1.00 GBP tickets for up to four people per household, with only one person needing to show documents. Membership starts at 65 GBP a year for unlimited entry. Historic Royal Palaces operates a strict no-refunds policy; unused admission tickets bought directly on its website can be amended for a fee by phoning 0333 320 6000 at least three working days before the new visit date, and rebooking instead of amending loses the money. The recorded admission on this page is the 24.70 GBP adult rate without donation.

Checked 2026-08-26 · Source

Getting there

Historic Royal Palaces gives two nearest Underground stations with measured walking distances. Queensway on the Central line is 728 metres, about ten minutes, entering Kensington Gardens by Black Lion Gate and then walking five to ten minutes straight along the main path. High Street Kensington on the Circle and District lines is 765 metres, also about ten minutes, entering the gardens by Dial Walk or the Broad Walk. Notting Hill Gate is a 20 to 25 minute walk and Paddington, for National Rail and the Elizabeth line, about 20 minutes. Buses 94, 148 and 274 stop along Bayswater Road; buses 9, 49, 52, 70 and 452 stop along Kensington High Street. The palace entrance is at the What3Words location 'rank.weedy.clear'. There is no on-site public parking and Historic Royal Palaces advises against arriving by car, naming Q-Park Queensway and Euro Car Parks on Bayswater Road as the nearest, each a ten-minute walk. Accessible parking is available on site but must be booked at least seven days ahead by email to the access address given on the Historic Royal Palaces getting-here page, or on 020 3166 6199, giving name, arrival time, registration and Blue Badge serial number; it is for cars only, and there is no accessible coach parking. Coach drop-off and collection are not available on site, with a Euro Car Parks coach park at Orme Square Gate 10 to 15 minutes' walk away. Santander Cycle docking stations are at Black Lion Gate and Palace Gate, and bike racks are by the Orangery Gate, though those racks may be unavailable during Orangery closures or large events on the Orangery lawns. Cycling is not permitted in the palace gardens.

Checked 2026-08-26 · Source

What to watch out for

The single biggest thing to know before booking is that the Queen's State Apartments are closed until spring 2027 for a major re-presentation, a closure stated on both the opening times page and the tickets page. A visitor expecting the full circuit will find part of it walled off. Entry is by 30-minute timed slot and Historic Royal Palaces will not guarantee admission outside it, though arriving anywhere inside the slot is fine: a 10:30 slot admits until 10:59. Latecomers are fitted into the next available slot where capacity allows, which on a busy day it may not. Every visitor passes a security scanner on entry to the palace, shop and cafe, and bags may be searched; anyone with a health condition affected by the scanner should say so to staff on arrival. There is no left luggage or bag storage, and suitcases, large bags and rolling luggage are not allowed inside the palace buildings at all. Air conditioning exists only in the Pigott Galleries where the exhibition sits, not in the other rooms, the shop or the cafe, which matters on a hot day in a building of small panelled rooms. On dress and conduct, Historic Royal Palaces sets no formal dress code but asks visitors to dress respectfully, will ask a bare-chested adult to cover up, requires shoes to be worn, and does not permit adults to enter in costume unless an organised event says otherwise. Guided groups are restricted: only Blue Badge Guides may guide inside Kensington Palace, in parties of no more than six plus the guide. Third-party vouchers cannot be redeemed on the Historic Royal Palaces website. National Art Fund Pass holders get half-price entry while a temporary exhibition is open and free entry outside exhibition periods, but must collect tickets at the Ticket Office rather than walk straight in.

Checked 2026-08-26 · Source

Photography

Historic Royal Palaces permits non-commercial photography inside Kensington Palace in most cases, provided no flash is used. Some objects or images are excluded and this is clearly signposted; where it is unclear, the instruction is to ask a member of staff. Filming and panoramic photography are allowed, but tripods and selfie sticks are prohibited outright, so a low-light interior shot has to be taken hand-held. Visitors are asked not to film staff without permission and specifically not while they are delivering talks. Commercial photography, filming or sketching must be arranged in advance, and the palace sells its own images through the Historic Royal Palaces Image Library. Wedding and engagement shoots are reserved for couples married at the palace. Two consequences follow for a first visit. Indoors, the painted King's Staircase is the picture most people want and the one most punished by the no-flash, no-tripod rule; a fast lens and a steady hand are the whole technique. Outdoors, nothing is restricted at all: the gardens, the Sunken Garden, the Diana statue, Princess Louise's 1893 statue of Queen Victoria on the West Front and the Orangery are free to enter and free to photograph, and the East Front reads best from across the lawn rather than up close.

Checked 2026-08-26

Where it is

Nearby

External links

• +44 20 3166 6000
• View on Wikidata