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Review
Ground-breaking and elegant new study - MAJESTY MAGAZINE Edward Impey used to be curator of Historic Royal Palaces and so knows Kensington Palace well, as can be seen by this admirable book which packs a thorough social and architectural history into the economical framework of an extended guidebook - COUNTRY LIFE
Product Description
With the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997, Kensington Palace, her London home, became known throughout the world. But as an architectural gem, a repository of great works of art, a favoured home of kings and queens, the scene of many major events in English history, for many it remains to be discovered. In 1689 King William III and his wife, Mary, bought the modest early seventeenth-century house from the Earl of Nottingham. Under them and their successors the greatest architects and craftsmen in Britain - Christopher Wren, Nicholas Hawksmoor and William Kent among them - transformed it into a royal palace complete with magnificent gardens. But for all its splendour and importance, the architecture and history of Kensington Palace reflect its use for the more private side of royal life: here the monarch retreated from government business at Westminster, and the court and royal family enjoyed their house, gardens and the cream of their collections in an atmosphere of relative informality. Beautifully illustrated with antiquarian material, paintings, historic plans, new photography and specially prepared reconstructions, The Official Illustrated History tells the fascinating story of Kensington Palace from its origins to the present day.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
A beautifully illustrated and relatively detailed history of the palace and its occupants
19 Sep 2007
Format:Paperback
Over 120 pages the author gives a relatively detailed history of Kensington Palace from its initial construction as the home of Sir George Coppin in 1605 up to the present time. The story starts with the manor of Chenesiton in Domesday Book. What adds to the book's attraction is that attention is also given to the lives and times of the palace's occupiers as well as to the construction and reconstruction of the edifice itself.
Chapters are titled "Kensington Before the Palace"; "The Royal Residence - Kensington under William & Mary"; "Kensington under Queen Anne"; "The Royal Palace - Kensington in the Reign of George I"; "George II & Queen Caroline"; "Kensington Palace"; "Victorian Kensington"; "The Palace in the 20th Century"; and "Kensington Since the 1970s".
As expected, much of the story is told by means of sumptuous illustrations, featuring full-colour reproductions of contemporary portraits of the royal occupants, their architects and decorators, as well as contemporary views of the house and surroundings, together with wonderful reproductions of maps and plans.
Written in an easy style, but not deficient in authority, this official history is highly recommended.
Chapters are titled "Kensington Before the Palace"; "The Royal Residence - Kensington under William & Mary"; "Kensington under Queen Anne"; "The Royal Palace - Kensington in the Reign of George I"; "George II & Queen Caroline"; "Kensington Palace"; "Victorian Kensington"; "The Palace in the 20th Century"; and "Kensington Since the 1970s".
As expected, much of the story is told by means of sumptuous illustrations, featuring full-colour reproductions of contemporary portraits of the royal occupants, their architects and decorators, as well as contemporary views of the house and surroundings, together with wonderful reproductions of maps and plans.
Written in an easy style, but not deficient in authority, this official history is highly recommended.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Informative as a history book not a guide or Royal tell all
16 Nov 2003
Format:Paperback
An extremely nice paperback history book about Kensington Palace. You get the history of the place from it's beginnings (there's been something built on the site for about a 1000 years) but mostly covering the period from the 17th century onwards through today.
There are a lot of photographs of various sections of the building complex, some more than 100 years old,both inside and out as well as maps and diagrams from past centuries.
The history of the place is very detailed with period illustrations and covers many of the occupants as well as the structure itself.
I really like the book and would recommend it to anyone who has been or is thinking of going to London. You will learn a lot about the Palace but be warned, this isn't a guide book. You will learn about a lot of what is there but you aren't told just what isn't open to the public (if you are it isn't very clear and I missed it)and there is no Prince(or Princess)lived here detail (Charles & Diana barely mentioned in comparison to some past inhabitants).
There are a lot of photographs of various sections of the building complex, some more than 100 years old,both inside and out as well as maps and diagrams from past centuries.
The history of the place is very detailed with period illustrations and covers many of the occupants as well as the structure itself.
I really like the book and would recommend it to anyone who has been or is thinking of going to London. You will learn a lot about the Palace but be warned, this isn't a guide book. You will learn about a lot of what is there but you aren't told just what isn't open to the public (if you are it isn't very clear and I missed it)and there is no Prince(or Princess)lived here detail (Charles & Diana barely mentioned in comparison to some past inhabitants).
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
better than going there.
7 Sep 2009
Format:Paperback
Read this instead of going there - there's very little content, even for those wanting to worship at the Shrine of Diana, and what is there is not very well explained or presented - the paintings in particular are very badly lit, almost unviewable in fact. Hampton Court is (just) worth the 15 quid they charge to get in, Kensington at 12.50 is a complete rip off by comparison. Stick to the book.
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