"Fashion Rules" at Kensington Palace

I visited Kensington Palace at the end of last year, which explains the gloomy-looking weather! My verdict on the "Fashion Rules" exhibition is below….

History of the Palace:

Kensington Palace was built on the site of a mansion in 1689. The joint monarchs William and Mary built it, as they wanted a residence that was further from the river and better situated for the asthmatic William. The architect Sir Christopher Wren (who also built St Paul’s Cathedral!) was commissioned to expand the original mansion, adding all of the features a palace would need. For the next seven decades, the Palace remained a favoured royal residence.

It was Queen Anne (1665-1714) who had the Orangery built, and it is now a key part of the Palace, as well as the ‘Queen’s Apartments’. After this rather glamorous list of residents, the last monarch to use Kensington Palace as their official residence was George II. It’s worth noting that each monarch changed parts of the palace as they stayed there, meaning that there are many different styles in the decoration and architecture of the rooms. After George’s death in 1760, the Palace was used for lesser royalty.

In more recent history, it was the first marital residence of Prince Charles and Diana in 1981, and remained Princess Diana’s flat until her death. At the moment, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge live there (along with baby George!). The public parts of the Palace are managed by Historic Royal Palaces.

My experience:

As it was a while back that I visited, I thought I’d just look at the ‘Fashion Rules’ exhibition that I visited at the time.

The exhibition is sponsored by Estee Lauder and looks at the fashion of the Queen, Princess Margaret and Princess Diana. This is open right up until next summer, and is a wonderful examination of the fashions of the time and the powerful women who wore them.

First, you are introduced to the outfits of the Queen during the early years of her reign, and you are told when and where it was worn:

All of her clothes are beautiful, but you then get to Princess Margaret’s dresses:

These are just as beautiful, but it makes you realise that Princess Margaret had far more freedom in how she could dress! (A tiny bit like Kate and Pippa Middleton)

Interestingly, the exhibition keeps Princess Diana’s clothes very separate. Her dresses were in a single case, and you can see just how often she was photographed wearing them:

Videos are across the walls in various rooms, which gives a bit more context to the people who wore the clothes.

Ultimately, I’d say this exhibition is worth a visit. It’s included in the price of the entry ticket, and the Palace is fascinating to go around. The exhibition isn’t the most kid-friendly of topics, but there are lots of activities around the palace to keep them entertained!

Have you been to the Fashion Rules exhibition? What did you think?