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Kensington Palace

In 1605 the first house on the site of Kensington Palace was completed. It was built for Sir Walter Cope, a businessman and politician but in 1689 William III and Mary II bought Nottingham House from the Earl of Nottingham for £20,000. This house would be transformed into Kensington Palace and has been a residence of the Royal Family since the 17th Century. Today, the State Rooms are open to the public and managed by the independent charity Historic Royal Palaces.

In 1623, writing from Madrid, Charles I directed that a payment of £500 should be made for a set of tapestries representing the Twelve Months of the year from the Mortlake Tapestry Factory. In 2012 a number of the eight tapestries that remain in the Royal Collection were taken down from the Privy Chamber, to undergo conservation. Zardi & Zardi were commissioned to produce reproductions of Autumn’, ‘July & August’and ‘February’ to hang during while the originals were being repaired.