Two days after my birthday it was my dear friend Gaby’s time to turn a year older, and as it was a Saturday we could do something during the day as well. Together with Gaby’s friend Laura we went to Kensington Palace to mainly look at the royal dresses exhibition but we ended up seeing all the different exhibitions and I was really impressed by them all.

In The King’s State Apartments the exhibition centered around Charles I and Charles II and it was decorated in a rather masculine style to cement that.

In The Queen’s State Apartments we got to know Mary II and learn about the end of the Stuart dynasty. This exhibition was more feminine and delicate, yet very good.

In fact, both these exhibitions were very educational and had plenty of things for children to look at, touch and do. You could practice being a princess at the court and carry books on your head for example (which we sadly felt a bit too old for).

Fashion Rules was the reason we went, though (love the title by the way). It started off with the Queen’s dresses from the 1950s and 1960s, then onto the end of the 1960s and 1970s with Princess Margaret’s dresses and finishing in the 1980s with Princess Diana’s frocks. I prefered the Queen’s gowns; they were the most stylish. The dresses from the 1980s were all very on trend then, but rather hideous now, yet princess Diana looked gorgeous in them. Amazing!

We also went to the Victoria Revealed about Queen Victoria’s life. She actually grew up at Kensington Palace and the exhibition follows her through her whole life and of course focuses a lot on her marriage to prince Albert. Very interesting!

Kensington Palace Gardens

After walking around the palace for hours we desperately needed to sit down and rest and walked over to the orangery for cake and bubbly before heading off to Notting Hill for dinner. It was such a lovely day and the palace is well worth a visit.

Kensington Palace State Apartments, Kensington Gardens, London W8 4PX