The contract also involves construction of a new shop and café for the Historic Royal Palaces, an independent charity that manages the palace. The contract is part of the charity’s major £12 million ($19 million) ‘Welcome to Kensington: a palace for everyone’ project that will see the palace transformed in time for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and London Olympics in 2012.
The contract involves the remodelling, alteration and refurbishment of parts of the palace, keeping the remaining palace open to the public. Extensive landscaping works to the surrounding gardens will also be undertaken to form a new visitor entrance and a water feature installed around the Queen Victoria Statue.
Historic Royal Palaces has devised a bold and ambitious plan to transform Kensington Palace for the 21st century by mid-2012. The project ‘Welcome to Kensington – a palace for everyone’ will create a new landscape for the palace and engaging displays that tell more of the palace’s stories. The transformation also includes creating a magical experience weaving contemporary fashion, performance, dreamlike installations and tales of the princesses who once lived there.
Kensington Palace was built in 1689 and was the birthplace of Queen Victoria. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century. Today it is the official residence of The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
Historic Royal Palaces also manages some of the most significant and popular historic buildings in the UK including the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace.
