Day 2 – Royal Albert Hall and Kensington Palace

Well, we got off to a late start once again. Hoping to make the bus over to RAH, we nearly sprinted to the stop… just in time to miss it. Although the next bus was due within 8-12 minutes, we waited for more than 20. Needless to say, we missed the tour time we were planning to take. We ended up buying tickets for a later one and went for a short walk down Kensington Road (RAH is off of this road which borders Hyde Park). We saw the huge statue/monument of Prince Albert (Queen Victoria’s husband). It’s made out of granite, other stone, and metal. The figure and some other areas our covered with two coats of 24k gold leaf. The statue is so heavy, it is supported by 80+ brick arches beneath it (underground).

The Hall was fabulous. Our guide was very knowledgeable – remarking on the origination of the idea, funding, building, and renovations. Some interesting facts:
- Prince Albert was the mastermind behind the Great Exhibition of 1851 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Exhibition); the major attraction being the Crystal Palace (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crystal_Palace).
- Proceeds from the Great Exhibition were used to buy the land for the Hall. Unfortunately, the Prince died and Queen Victoria used most of the money to build that huge statue mentioned earlier. She ran out of money before the hall could be built (insert: eye roll).
- Interestingly, they raised money to build by selling seats to wealthy families. For 100 GBP, people could by a permanent seat in the hall with a lease of 999 years. To this day, there are about 1,000 seats that have been passed down through families. These people can see whatever show at whatever time they like – for free, for life!
We learned many interesting bits of information during the 1-hour tour. We sat in the box next to the Queen’s, stood in her private reception room, and spied her private entrance and staircase. As I’ve mentioned before, I always find it incredible to envision the history that went on in these places, the people that tread where we were standing at that moment.

Kensington Palace was next. There were a few exhibits going on: The Last Debutantes, Princess Diana’s dress exhibit, and an exhibit demonstrating the fashion over time within the Royal household. We were also able to walk through the State apartments (specifically noting William and Mary and Queen Victoria). Again, I loved envisioning the past as I walked through the preserved rooms with their velvet wallpaper, carved marble fireplaces, and secret doors noticeable only by the key-shaped hole in the wall.

Following our walk through the Palace, we had a little tea at The Orangery (a separate building near the Palace once used to house the orange trees and other winter-unfriendly plants during the colder months). Now, it’s a nice little restaurant. Luckily, it was much easier to catch a bus back to the apartment.

To find out more about Prince Albert, go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/albert_prince.shtml

To find out more about Royal Albert Hall, go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Albert_Hall

To read more about Kensington Palace, go to:
http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/stories.aspx