Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Announce Their Move to Kensington Palace

by Iain Surman

According to the St James Palace, the newly wed Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are to move into an apartment at Kensington Palace. This is where the late Princess Diana lived after her divorce from the Prince of Wales. However this is a temporary home as they are still considering their options for the longer term.

William III brought part of Hyde Park back in 1689 and commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to design Kensington Palace. The idea behind the park was to have a peaceful refuge where visitors to London and its inhabitants could go to escape the city. It gets incredibly busy in fine weather with sunbathing, joggers and runners.

Kensington Palace is located in the famous Kensington Palace Gardens which is a slice of heaven with the metropolitan London as a backdrop. From being in the gardens it is strange to think that just outside the gates you have the hustle and bustle of the busy London streets.

The Kensington palace gardens are located between Bayswater and the Royal Albert Hall which is literally across the road from the Albert Memorial on the grounds.

In the grounds you have the Diana Memorial Playground (close to the palace,) which is a Peter Pan themed playground for children to play on. Over 750,000 children visit the playground each year and there is enough space for them to run around and allow the parents a bit of respite.

The Kensington Park gardens also feature the Italians Gardens which are an ornamental water garden which were inspired by Prince Albert in 1860-1. Stroll along The Long River and you come across the Peter Pan statue donated to the park by the Peter Pan author J M Barrie in 1912. The statue is settled in a small copse of trees and overlooks the river facing eastwards.

To the south of the gardens you will find the Albert Memorial located between Queens Gate and Alexandra Gate, but it is also directly opposite the Royal Albert Hall. The memorial gold plated and is in memory of Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert who died in 1861.

Walking back towards centre of the park is the Victorian round pond which is popular for its swans and ducks and where people sail their model boats.

Then turn westwards you have Kensington Palace which will be the temporary marital home for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge when they are staying in London.

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London's Kensington Palace - Time To Travel