“Pretentious tourist trap”, “a sort of Disneyland full of modern-day gimmicks and tatty decorations” and “travesty of palace life” were comments posted by members of the public about Victoria Revealed and the newly refurbished Kensington Palace on the travel review website TripAdvisor.
The strength of feeling generated about the £12m transformation of the palace appeared to coalesce around high-ticket prices, a perception that there were fewer objects on display since the renovation, inadequate lighting and the standard of interpretation.
The project to transform Kensington Palace into A Palace for Everyone started in 2009 and it officially reopened in March in time for the Queen’s diamond jubilee and the London Olympics.
It was funded by Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), an independent charity that receives no money from either government or the Crown, which is clearly stated on all corporate documentation and accounts for the relatively high entry charges as operating income is derived from ticket sales, donations and sponsorship.
The extensive refurbishment includes the opening up of the palace to the surrounding parklands so that sightlines, vistas and the building’s original prominence within the landscape have been restored.
By removing fences, railings and unwanted vegetation, a clear public entrance has been established and a new walkway with hornbeam hedging now connects the palace to the sunken garden, “cradle walk” of limes and orangery. The gardens and visitor hub spaces at lower ground-floor level offer free public access to those unwilling to pay for entry.
Trail of stitches
Inside the palace the entrance spaces and circulation routes have been completely reconfigured to create a visitor hub that features a main entrance foyer with ticket office, vestibule, shop, cafe and central stone hall.
The focal point of the hall is a light sculpture that is composed of electroluminescent wire encrusted with Swarovski crystals created by art and design studio Loop.pH. These transitional spaces created by Acme Design Studios set the mood and tone of the spectacle to follow and combine artistic interpretation with functionality.
The vestibule operates as an orientation space where visitors can choose between the four narrative routes of discovery, each signified by a trail of stitches inspired by the Royal Dress Collection. The four routes lead to the King’s State Apartments, the Queen’s State Apartments, Victoria Revealed and Modern Royals, the latter housing a temporary display of Princess Diana’s dresses.
The State Apartments have been transformed by theatre company Coney, which has introduced a network of artists and designers to interpret the historic interiors using play, animation, interactive installations and soundscapes.
Victoria Revealed is a new permanent exhibition that traces the life of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Victoria, from her birth in 1819 through key moments and themes until her death aged 91 in 1901. The exhibition covers 10 rooms in the first floor of the public side of the palace.
It was designed by Opera Amsterdam, the company responsible for the Victoria and Albert Museum’s 2011 exhibition The Cult of Beauty, which maintained a similar focus in creating a visually stunning environment with an emphasis on mood and atmosphere.
The route begins on the Stone Stair where in 1836 Victoria first caught sight of her cousin Prince Albert, whose face is projected where he originally stood. The story of Queen Victoria is taken from her own words in journals and letters that are reproduced on walls, mirrors, carpets, cushions and tables.
Quotations provide the leitmotif of the exhibition and are juxtaposed with a range of personal artefacts including documents, drawings, garments, jewels and furniture in order to encourage visitors to reconsider the former queen and the events that shaped her life from her own perspective.
In praise of HRP
The sequence of rooms is organised by theme or event commencing with the Red Saloon, where the 18-year-old Victoria held her first Privy Council. The intimidating atmosphere is recreated through sombre lighting, projected names, titles and life-size silhouettes of the councillors in attendance and sound recordings of their opinions of her.
From here the mood lifts and the light intensifies as visitors enter the room entitled Falling in Love, which contains Victoria’s ivory silk wedding dress and a portrait by Franz Winterhalter depicting her with hair loosely falling around her shoulders.
Other rooms include Childhood and Family Life; Duty and Work; the Great Exhibition, which features a stunning diorama of the Crystal Palace; Albert Dies, a space shrouded in darkness; and Mourning, marking Victoria’s retreat into private grief. The exhibition concludes with her return to the public sphere in Jubilee and a consideration of her legacy in Looking Back.
So what is it about these theatrical and immersive spaces that have so upset some of the museum-going public? The main criticism levelled at Victoria Revealed and the redesign of Kensington Palace is that spectacle, performance and artistic installations have replaced a serious engagement with objects.
Comments such as “How are modern carpets with lots of writing on them supposed to show us anything about the past or the life lived there?” and “In every room there were people complaining that it was twee” or “sub-Disney” suggests a dumbing down. But this is at odds with the innovative curatorial and collaborative practices that have informed this transformation.
There is nothing tacky or twee about the displays and spatial communication at Kensington Palace, which were executed by a roll-call of companies at the forefront of creative practice.
Yes, there are shades of Disney in terms of the use of performance, a form of emotional and aesthetic interpretation where HRP employees or “explainers” deploy theatrical techniques to explain Kensington’s history.
However this is a positive change, substituting the passive experience of listening to audioguides and reading text panels into dialogue and exchange.
If Kensington Palace is the new Magic Kingdom, at least it is a realm where artists, designers and performers find patrons, and imagination and creativity are nurtured and celebrated.
Nicky Ryan is the programme director in the school of design at the London College of Communication
The strength of feeling generated about the £12m transformation of the palace appeared to coalesce around high-ticket prices, a perception that there were fewer objects on display since the renovation, inadequate lighting and the standard of interpretation.
The project to transform Kensington Palace into A Palace for Everyone started in 2009 and it officially reopened in March in time for the Queen’s diamond jubilee and the London Olympics.
It was funded by Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), an independent charity that receives no money from either government or the Crown, which is clearly stated on all corporate documentation and accounts for the relatively high entry charges as operating income is derived from ticket sales, donations and sponsorship.
The extensive refurbishment includes the opening up of the palace to the surrounding parklands so that sightlines, vistas and the building’s original prominence within the landscape have been restored.
By removing fences, railings and unwanted vegetation, a clear public entrance has been established and a new walkway with hornbeam hedging now connects the palace to the sunken garden, “cradle walk” of limes and orangery. The gardens and visitor hub spaces at lower ground-floor level offer free public access to those unwilling to pay for entry.
Trail of stitches
Inside the palace the entrance spaces and circulation routes have been completely reconfigured to create a visitor hub that features a main entrance foyer with ticket office, vestibule, shop, cafe and central stone hall.
The focal point of the hall is a light sculpture that is composed of electroluminescent wire encrusted with Swarovski crystals created by art and design studio Loop.pH. These transitional spaces created by Acme Design Studios set the mood and tone of the spectacle to follow and combine artistic interpretation with functionality.
The vestibule operates as an orientation space where visitors can choose between the four narrative routes of discovery, each signified by a trail of stitches inspired by the Royal Dress Collection. The four routes lead to the King’s State Apartments, the Queen’s State Apartments, Victoria Revealed and Modern Royals, the latter housing a temporary display of Princess Diana’s dresses.
The State Apartments have been transformed by theatre company Coney, which has introduced a network of artists and designers to interpret the historic interiors using play, animation, interactive installations and soundscapes.
Victoria Revealed is a new permanent exhibition that traces the life of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Victoria, from her birth in 1819 through key moments and themes until her death aged 91 in 1901. The exhibition covers 10 rooms in the first floor of the public side of the palace.
It was designed by Opera Amsterdam, the company responsible for the Victoria and Albert Museum’s 2011 exhibition The Cult of Beauty, which maintained a similar focus in creating a visually stunning environment with an emphasis on mood and atmosphere.
The route begins on the Stone Stair where in 1836 Victoria first caught sight of her cousin Prince Albert, whose face is projected where he originally stood. The story of Queen Victoria is taken from her own words in journals and letters that are reproduced on walls, mirrors, carpets, cushions and tables.
Quotations provide the leitmotif of the exhibition and are juxtaposed with a range of personal artefacts including documents, drawings, garments, jewels and furniture in order to encourage visitors to reconsider the former queen and the events that shaped her life from her own perspective.
In praise of HRP
The sequence of rooms is organised by theme or event commencing with the Red Saloon, where the 18-year-old Victoria held her first Privy Council. The intimidating atmosphere is recreated through sombre lighting, projected names, titles and life-size silhouettes of the councillors in attendance and sound recordings of their opinions of her.
From here the mood lifts and the light intensifies as visitors enter the room entitled Falling in Love, which contains Victoria’s ivory silk wedding dress and a portrait by Franz Winterhalter depicting her with hair loosely falling around her shoulders.
Other rooms include Childhood and Family Life; Duty and Work; the Great Exhibition, which features a stunning diorama of the Crystal Palace; Albert Dies, a space shrouded in darkness; and Mourning, marking Victoria’s retreat into private grief. The exhibition concludes with her return to the public sphere in Jubilee and a consideration of her legacy in Looking Back.
So what is it about these theatrical and immersive spaces that have so upset some of the museum-going public? The main criticism levelled at Victoria Revealed and the redesign of Kensington Palace is that spectacle, performance and artistic installations have replaced a serious engagement with objects.
Comments such as “How are modern carpets with lots of writing on them supposed to show us anything about the past or the life lived there?” and “In every room there were people complaining that it was twee” or “sub-Disney” suggests a dumbing down. But this is at odds with the innovative curatorial and collaborative practices that have informed this transformation.
There is nothing tacky or twee about the displays and spatial communication at Kensington Palace, which were executed by a roll-call of companies at the forefront of creative practice.
Yes, there are shades of Disney in terms of the use of performance, a form of emotional and aesthetic interpretation where HRP employees or “explainers” deploy theatrical techniques to explain Kensington’s history.
However this is a positive change, substituting the passive experience of listening to audioguides and reading text panels into dialogue and exchange.
If Kensington Palace is the new Magic Kingdom, at least it is a realm where artists, designers and performers find patrons, and imagination and creativity are nurtured and celebrated.
Nicky Ryan is the programme director in the school of design at the London College of Communication
Project data
- Cost £12m (total cost of Kensington Palace redevelopment)
- Main funder HRP
- Exhibition design (Victoria Revealed) Opera Amsterdam
- AV Spiral
- Paper cut-outs Andrew Singelton
- Albert’s wedding suit Rebecca Morrison
- Showcase styling Reminiscences Room
