Explore these sumptuous rooms, each grander than the last
The first thing you will notice about these opulent rooms is that they are surprisingly sparse. This is because, unlike domestic rooms, the State Apartments were used for audiences and meetings.
Courtiers and visitors stood in the presence of royalty, so there was no need for the sorts of furniture you normally find in a home.
However, these rooms contain many sculptures and works of art, such as the terracotta busts of George II and his wife Queen Caroline, made by Michael Rysbrack in 1738 and 1739.
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Buy Kensington Palace ticketsThe King's Rooms
The King's Staircase
The King's Staircase is the first link to the circuit of rooms making up the King's State Apartments.
All the great and good of Georgian London would have climbed these stairs to visit the King.
The Presence Chamber
The monarch received courtiers, ministers and foreign ambassadors here in The Presence Chamber. The fireplace is surrounded by limewood carvings by Grinling Gibbons, including cherubs that were originally painted white.
The Privy Chamber
The Privy Chamber was one of Queen Caroline's favourite entertaining spaces.
See the magnificent ceiling painted by William Kent in 1723, as well as some impressive tapestries made in the Mortlake Tapestry workshop founded by King Charles I.
The Cupola Room
The Cupola Room is the most splendidly decorated room in the palace.
It was the first royal commission of William Kent, the artist and designer who would go on to decorate the rest of the State Apartments and create a distinctive visual style for the Georgian age.
The King's Drawing Room
Courtiers would have come to the King's Drawing Room in search of power and patronage. It is the climax of the whole suite of rooms.
The highlight of this room is the painting of Venus and Cupid by Vasari. Queen Caroline tried to have the painting moved while her husband was away in Hanover. When the King returned he furiously insisted it be put back. It still hangs there today.
The King's Gallery
William III played soldiers with his little nephew in the King's Gallery and it was here that he caught the chill that led to his death in 1702.
The Clock in the Cupola Room
At the centre of the elaborate Cupola Room at Kensington Palace stands an eighteenth century musical clock, the 'Temple of the Four Great Monarchies of the World'.
The clock is the Cupola Room an an eighteenth century musical clock, the 'Temple of the Four Great Monarchies of the World'.
Clockmaker Charles Clay worked on this magnificent clock for 20 years of his life and spent over £2,000 on it. It was unfinished when he died, and in his will, he instructed it to be 'beat to pieces' to save any more time or money spent on it. His wife did not comply and the clock was acquired by Princess Augusta in around 1743, and placed in this room soon after.
The clock is now part of the Royal Collection © HM Queen Elizabeth II.
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Victoria: A Royal Childhood
Discover the story of Princess Victoria, the young girl destined to be queen, in the rooms where she was born and raised at Kensington Palace.
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- Kensington Palace
- Included in palace admission (members go free)
- Things to see
The Queen’s State Apartments
Explore the beautiful private rooms at Kensington Palace where Mary II once took her meals, relaxed and entertained.
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- Kensington Palace
- Included in palace admission (members go free)
- Things to see
The King’s Gallery
Explore the King's Gallery, which was transformed by William Kent to showcase the finest paintings of the Royal Collection.
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- Kensington Palace
- Included in palace admission (members go free)
BROWSE MORE HISTORY AND STORIES
Queen Victoria
From pampered princess to elderly empress: wife, mother and queen
The story of Kensington Palace
An elegant retreat for Britain's royal family
The Georgians
Who were the kings who gave their name to an age?
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