The story of Kew Palace

Kew Palace is the smallest royal palace. It was originally built in 1631 as a fashionable mansion for wealthy London silk merchant Samuel Fortrey.

George II and Queen Caroline were first attracted to little Kew, thinking it a perfect lodging for their three eldest daughters.  After them, several generations of royalty in the Georgian period used Kew and nearby Richmond Lodge as weekend retreats from an intensely public life in town.

Kew Palace, including the Royal Kitchens, Queen Charlotte's Cottage and the Great Pagoda, reflects the intimate personal and domestic life of Georgian kings and queens for much of the 18th century. Today the interior of this tiny, atmospheric palace tells the powerful story of George III, his mental illness and the members of his family who lived and died there.

An intimate royal retreat

In the 1720s, the royal family, George II and Queen Caroline and their children arrived and took leases on the palace and several other houses in the near vicinity. 

Here, they could be private, domestic, and live normal lives unencumbered by the trappings of ceremony and deference. The gardens were cultivated as an idyllic pleasure ground.

Later, the house became a refuge for George III when he fell ill.

Even today, Kew’s scale and intimacy reflect a more humble and human picture of the British monarchy.

George III's mental and physical illness

However, once a place for summer relaxation and family life, Kew Palace fell under the shadow of George III’s mental illness. The King was incarcerated here during his first bout of illness in 1788.

Away from the public gaze, in the peace and seclusion of Kew, an increasingly desperate band of doctors tried to cure him.

The King survived being administered powerful emetics and laxatives, freezing baths and leeching. He was also put into a straitjacket if he refused to co-operate.

He recovered by 1789, but suffered recurrences in 1801 and 1804, before suffering a severe decline in 1810. A regency was declared in 1811.

No heir apparent

George III and Queen Charlotte had 15 children during their long marriage. 

By 1817 however, only one legitimate grandchild had been born, and that royal heir, Princess Charlotte died giving birth to a stillborn son.

Marriage of George and Charlotte's remaining sons, and the production of an heir to the throne now became more pressing than ever.

The baby race

As a succession crisis loomed, two of the royal sons, now in middle age, had to find appropriate royal wives. They looked to Germany for inspiration.

The princesses Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen and Victoire of Saxe-Coburg were eminently suitable choices. A race was now on between the couples to produce an heir to the throne.

On 11 July 1818, the dukes married their duchesses in the presence of the ailing Queen Charlotte. This double wedding was held in Queen Charlotte's Drawing Room.

A throne saved

Edward, Duke of Kent and his Duchess Victoire won the ‘baby race’ by producing a daughter, born just nine months after the wedding.

This baby was destined for greatness: christened Alexandrina Victoria this little girl would grow up to become Queen Victoria.

Victoria’s great-great-grandaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, celebrated her 80th birthday in 2006 with a family dinner party at Kew Palace.

Queen Charlotte's death at Kew

The royal family rarely visited Kew from 1809 onwards. Early in 1818, Queen Charlotte was taken ill on a journey from London to Windsor. 

She stayed at Kew Palace for what was thought to be a few days, but her health never improved.

After a long illness, Queen Charlotte died in her bedroom in November of that year.

The last enduring memory for the people of Kew was the slow procession of her coffin from the palace, taking her back to Windsor for burial. The entire village turned out to pay its respects as the queen left her beloved Kew for the last time.

The cobbled courtyard of Windsor Castle was muffled with straw so that George III, by now severely ill, would not be aware of the funeral carriage bringing back his beloved wife.