Gala Fashion and Heirloom Tiaras: My London Travel Diary (Part 3)
The third day of my recent trip to London began with royal fashion and breathtaking heirloom tiaras at Kensington Palace
After marveling at the Cartier exhibition at the V&A and the Edwardians exhibition at the King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, I had one more appointment during my recent trip to London: a stop at Kensington Palace to see their new fashion exhibition—and their spectacular room of tiaras.
Friday was my last full day in London, and after having finally figured out the optimal pillow configuration for sleeping overnight—something more and more important the older I get—I woke up refreshed and ready to take on my third major exhibition visit of the trip. I had pre-booked tickets to see the new exhibition at Kensington Palace, marking my first trip to that historic royal residence since 2013.
Lots had changed at KP since my last visit to London, and even more change was in progress. Because I knew I was going to be walking for most of the day, I took a cab to Hyde Park. The exterior of Kensington Palace is currently covered by big sheets of construction wrapping material, thanks to an ongoing restoration project, and I dodged a few workers as I walked up the path to the visitor’s entrance. I joined the queue, went through a quick security check, and had my digital ticket scanned.
Tickets to Kensington Palace offer admission to all public parts of the palace as well as any special exhibitions. Because I’d toured the state apartments before, I decided to begin by visiting Dress Codes, the special exhibition featuring pieces of clothing from the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, which is managed by Historic Royal Palaces. The collection includes 10,000 pieces of historic clothing and related objects and materials. A fraction of these has been selected for display in the new exhibition, which focuses on clothing worn to fit the dress code requirements for specific social occasions.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Hidden Gems to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.