Statue is Centre of Kensington Palace's £12m Refurbishment

[cinrit]

Kensington Palace is to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee by putting her longest-reigning ancestor at the heart of its £12million transformation.

A statue of Queen Victoria has been given a facelift - with her shrapnel-damage nose replaced for the second time - and the gardens have been re-landscaped to create a grand entrance from the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens.

An exhibition of Victoria's life will go on permanent display, while other exhibits - including five of Princess Diana's dresses that have never been publicly displayed before - will tell the story of the palace's other inhabitants. There will also be a temporary exhibition, Jubilee: A View From The Crowd, which tells the story of the public "mania" during Victoria's diamond jubilee in 1897.

Victoria's wedding dress will be on show, one of 300 items including her black silk baby shoes, mourning clothing worn after the death of Prince Albert and miniature toy houses she played with as a child. The aim is to increase visitor numbers by 100,000 a year, with accompanied children being admitted free.

Subsequent tours will tell of the "curious world" of George II, Queen Mary, Queen Anne and Princess Margaret. There will be no mention of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who use a cottage in the grounds as their London residence.

Read more:  http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-24006034-statue-is-centre-of-kensington-palaces-pound-12m-refurbishment.do 

Cindy