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May-Sept daily 10am-6pm; Oct-April Wed-Sun 10am-5pm; GBP9.50; www.hrp.org.uk. Tube: High Street Kensington or Queensway. On the western edge of Kensington Gardens stands Kensington Palace , a modestly proportioned Jacobean brick mansion bought by William and Mary in 1689, and the chief royal residence for the next fifty years. KP, as it's fondly known in royal circles, is best known today as the place where Princess Diana lived until her death in 1997. It was, in fact, the official London residence of both Charles and Di until the couple formally separated. In the weeks following Diana's death, literally millions of flowers, mementos, poems and gifts were deposited at the gates to the south of the palace. Visitors don't get to see Diana's apartments, which were on the west side of the palace, where various minor royals still live. Instead, they are given an audioguide which takes them round the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, where they get to view some of the Queen's frocks, and then the sparsely furnished state apartments. The highlights are the trompe l'oeil ceiling paintings by William Kent, in particular the Cupola Room, and the oil paintings in the King's Gallery. En route, you also get to see the tastelessly decorated rooms in which the future Queen Victoria spent her unhappy childhood. To recover from the above, take tea in the exquisite Orangery (daily: Easter-Sept 10am-6pm; Oct-Easter 10am-4pm), to the north of the palace.
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