Category

Fri, 25th July 2008 - Sun, 28th September 2008

Please Note:An admission ticket to Kew Gardens must be purchased to gain access to Kew Palace - for gardens admission, please visit http://www.rbgkew.org.uk.

Kew Palace was the family country house of King George III, between 1800 and 1818

'Where the royal family lived as the 'simplest country gentlefolks'

It’s surprisingly intimate

More like a home than a palace, the privacy and intimacy of this smallest of English royal palaces made it the favourite country retreat for the royal family in the late 18th century.

It’s been lovingly restored, re-presented with some rooms left untouched

The palace reopened to the public in April 2006 after a widely acclaimed restoration. The palace tells the story of George III and his family at rest at and play. Explore the unique second floor of the palace, the bedroom floor – untouched for 200 years.

They said it...

‘… it seems a happy house, not quite a doll’s house but a palace by default. Paradoxically, it’s Windsor with its glazed brick and elaborate crenellations that looks like a 19th-century mental institution, with Kew the ideal home.’

Queen Charlotte's Cottage

The cottage is found at the southern end of Kew Gardens, near the Pagoda. It is open at weekends and bank holidays during the summer.

Kew Gardens

Under George III’s father, Frederick Prince of Wales, Kew grew from a modest pleasure garden to a centre for botanical research and new ideas about landscape gardening.

As the British Empire was founded great explorers sent back specimens from all over the world and gave Kew its peculiar world view.

How to get there;

London Underground; Nearest Station: Use District Line to Kew Gardens station (take the Richmond train). The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew is a 5-minute walk from the station. Exit through the parade of shops and follow the directional signage to the gardens.

Bus; routes: 65, 237, 267 (summer Sundays only) and 391.

Train; South West Trains to Kew Bridge station or Silverlink Train Services to Kew Gardens station. The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew is a 10-minute walk from Kew Bridge station. Cross over the bridge and the gardens are located ahead on the left-hand side. From Kew Gardens station, see above.

Palace Info

Kew Palace is open from 25th March to 28th September 2008

Opening Times

Monday 11.00am to 5.00pm

Tuesday to Sunday 10.00am to 5.00pm

Last admission to the palace is at 4.15pm

Queen Charlotte's Cottage is open from June to September on Saturday & Sunday from 10am to 4pm

Kew Gardens open every day at 9.30am except Christmas Eve & Christmas Day.Closing times vary throughout the year

Booking Info

Kew Palace can only be ticketed in conjunction with Kew Gardens

Note that an admission ticket to Kew Gardens must be purchased to gain access to Kew Palace - for gardens admission, please visit http://www.rbgkew.org.uk.

On arrival at Kew Gardens the voucher/ticket must be exchanged for a timed ticket for the Palace.