Insights and behind the scenes from our palaces
Researching and redecorating Queen Victoria's childhood home
22 May 2019
On 24th May 1819 at Kensington Palace, Queen Victoria was born. On 24th May 2019, her 200th birthday, the home of her youth will be re-opened to visitors after a major makeover in the form of a new exhibition called ‘Victoria: A Royal Childhood.’
Why we need to stop looking for sex: letters and LGBT+ royal history
25 February 2019
'How do you know?' I've been asked this a lot recently when I've been talking about LGBT+ royal history. I'm glad to be asked it, because it gets to the heart of studying LGBT+ identities in the past. In this post, I'd like to talk about the evidence and assumptions, which tell us a lot about sexuality in the past, and today.
Grand Duchess Xenia Romanov: A royal Russian resident at Hampton Court Palace
06 April 2017
On 6 April 1917, in the midst of violence and unrest, Grand Duchess Xenia Romanov left St Petersburg on a train to the Crimea, never to return again. Xenia's journey into exile eventually brought her to Hampton Court Palace.