KENSINGTON PALACE
When William III., "a great man in a little crazy body" as Leigh
Hunt calls him, found that he could not stand the smoky atmosphere of
Whitehall, he looked about for a place sufficiently near London for
him to be near his Ministers, and yet should be rural enough to have
clear fresh air. He found this spot in the village of Kensington,
where he bought a suburban mansion, formerly the residence of the
Earls of Nottingham. Here he at once began building, and laying out
gardens in the formal Dutch fashion, employing Sir Christopher Wren
to make the alterations to the house. While the King was in
Ireland fighting against his father-in-law, James II., Queen Mary
superintended the work, writing to her absent husband of the slow
progress the builders were making, and how "the place made me think
how happy I was there when I had your dear company." A road was
specially constructed through Hyde Park, gravelled and lighted with
lamps, for the convenience of the officers of State, who were obliged
to visit the monarch in his country retreat.
Queen Mary did not long enjoy the pleasures of Kensington Palace, for
in the winter of 1694, an epidemic of smallpox, which was raging in
the neighbourhood, crept through the palace gates, and attacked the
young Queen. Immediately she knew the terrible nature of her fate, the
Queen, with her usual kind consideration, directed that all her ladies
and servants who had not had smallpox should hurry from the palace,
while she herself, having put everything in order, calmly prepared for
death. King William could scarcely be persuaded to leave his beloved
wife, even to lie down at night upon the camp bed arranged for him
in the ante-chamber. Tears ran down the stern face which was seldom
allowed to betray any emotion, and in the end, just before Queen Mary
died, he was carried away from her bedside fainting. As he said to
Bishop Burnet, "I was the happiest man on earth; and I am the most
miserable. She had no fault; none: you knew her well: but you could
not know, nobody but myself could know her goodness."
Eight years later, King William himself expired in the same palace,
a man still in the prime of life, but worn out with illness and hard
work to which his vigorous intellect had driven him. He was already
far from well when he was thrown from his horse while riding in
Hampton Court Park, and broke his collar bone. The bone was set at
once, after which the King insisted upon returning to Kensington,
against the advice of his doctors. Upon arriving at the palace it was
found that the bone required resetting owing to the jolting caused by
the bad roads. The King lingered for a fortnight, busy all the time
arranging a coalition to curb the power of France, but on March 8 it
was seen that he was sinking. Macaulay tells us that "when his remains
were laid out it was found that he wore next to his skin a small piece
of black silk riband. The lords-in-waiting ordered it to be taken off.
It contained a gold ring and a lock of the hair of Mary."
Finding herself saddled with a debt of £4,000 still unpaid for the
building alterations of her predecessor, Queen Anne contented herself
with improving the gardens, leaving the palace untouched. But she
added one architectural feature, the beautiful orangery designed by
Sir Christopher Wren, standing near the north-east of the palace, a
building famous for the beauty of its proportions and the delicacy of
its detail. At one time it was much neglected and even ran the danger
of being pulled down, but was happily preserved and carefully restored
in 1898. The "dull woman with a dull husband," as Leigh Hunt bluntly
summarizes Queen Anne and Prince George of Denmark, both died in the
palace to which they were much attached, Prince George dying in 1708,
six years before his wife.
Always a lethargic and weak-minded woman, Queen Anne's pleasures lay
in eating and drinking, for she cared nothing for music or books, and
would sit in silence for a long time among her friends. It was natural
that such a woman should be ruled by the strong, imperious will
of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, who for many years completely
influenced the Queen. She, however, presumed too much upon this
influence till a breach was effected, never to be healed. The last
famous interview between the one-time friends took place in Kensington
Palace. The Duchess had written asking for an interview at which she
should merely state her case, the Queen not requiring to answer at
all. This the stolid Queen obeyed to the letter, for not a word could
the furious Duchess extract beyond "You desired no answer and you
shall have none."
[Illustration: A Courtyard of Kensington Palace.]
Under the first Hanoverian King, who never was able to speak the
language of his new subjects, the Court at Kensington was extremely
dull. But as George I. liked the quietness of the palace, he erected
a new suite of rooms, and employed William Kent as the architect. To
Kent we are indebted for the monotonous drab frontage which faces the
Round Pond.
The last monarch to reside and to die in the palace was George II.,
the "petty German autocrat" who scorned England and delighted in
snubbing his English courtiers, declaring, according to Lord Hervey,
that no Englishman knew how to enter a room, nor any Englishwoman
how to dress, nor English cooks how to prepare a dinner, nor English
coachman how to drive, nor, indeed, were there any English horses
fit to ride or drive. Queen Caroline, his much-enduring wife, devoted
herself to the planning out of the gardens, which she laid out
practically as we now see them. Uniting a collection of ponds she
created the Serpentine, and was also responsible for the Round Pond
and the Broad Walk.
George III. did not care for Kensington, much preferring his beloved
Windsor, so that the palace became somewhat neglected, being only used
by various members of the Royal Family. The Duke of Kent, the fourth
son of George III., came to live there shortly after his marriage, the
Princess Victoria being born on May 24, 1819, in the room which now
bears a brass plate commemorating the fact. At the time of her birth
there seemed small likelihood of the little Princess ever reaching
the Throne, but her royal uncles having no children, it soon became
obvious that she was the heir to the Throne of England. She herself,
being brought up with scrupulous care by her widowed mother, did not
know of her great future till the death of George III. The residents
of Kensington soon became familiar with the sight of little Princess
Victoria driving about in a donkey carriage or in a tiny chaise drawn
by small ponies.
A few weeks after her eighteenth birthday, the Princess was awakened
out of her sleep very early on a bright June morning. The Archbishop
of Canterbury and the Lord Chamberlain had arrived at the palace, and
their business could not wait. "We have come to see the _Queen_ on
business of state, and even the Queen's sleep must give way to that."
Hastily putting on a dressing gown and slippers, the young girl went
down, to be told by the Archbishop that her uncle and King was dead,
and that she was now the Queen of a vast inheritance. Later on that
same morning her first council was held in the palace, the scene
depicted by Wilkie in his well-known picture. The young Queen was very
dignified and self-possessed, turning to Lord Melbourne, the Prime
Minister, when doubtful as to what she should do, but showing all
through the trying ordeal a gentle sweetness that won upon all the
lords present. She read her speech "in a clear, distinct, and audible
voice, and without any appearance of fear or embarrassment," after
which all the privy councillors came to kiss her hand and swear
allegiance. When her uncle, the old Duke of Sussex, who was very
infirm, came forward to kneel before her, she left her chair and came
towards him, kissing him on the forehead. On July 13, the girl-Queen
left the home of her childhood for Buckingham Palace.
Members of the Royal Family continued to occupy various apartments in
the palace, the Duchess of Kent residing there till her death in 1861.
Queen Mary was born there, her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Teck,
living there for a short time.
After some years it was found that the palace was in a very bad state
of repair, every part of the building wanting attention. So extensive
was the dilapidation, that the question of pulling down the palace
was seriously considered. Fortunately, however, the historic place was
saved by Queen Victoria, who was anxious to preserve her old home. It
was finally decided as a memorial of the Diamond Jubilee, to repair
the building thoroughly, and to throw open the State Rooms to the
public. The restoration was carried out most carefully, everything
being saved that was possible; pictures were brought from Hampton
Court, and the whole palace rendered much as it was in the days of its
glory. At the present time it is serving as the temporary home of the
London Museum.