With the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997, Kensington Palace, her London home, became known throughout the world. But as an architectural gem, a repository of great works of art, a favoured home of kings and queens, the scene of many major events in English history, for many it remains to be discovered. In 1689 King William III and his wife, Mary, bought the modest early seventeenth-century house from the Earl of Nottingham. Under them and their successors the greatest architects and craftsmen in Britain ? Christopher Wren, Nicholas Hawksmoor and William Kent among them ? transformed it into a royal palace complete with magnificent gardens. But for all its splendour and importance, the architecture and history of Kensington Palace reflect its use for the more private side of royal life: here the monarch retreated from government business at Westminster, and the court and royal family enjoyed their house, gardens and the cream of their collections in an atmosphere of relative informality. Beautifully illustrated with antiquarian material, paintings, historic plans, new photography and specially prepared reconstructions, The Official Illustrated History tells the fascinating story of Kensington Palace from its origins to the present day. AUTHOR: Edward Impey, an executive director of English Heritage, was formerly Curator of Historic Royal Palaces and a Research Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. He has written widely on architectural and historical subjects, and has been involved in the history of Kensington Palace, and its presentation to the public, since 1995. He has also written widely on medieval domestic and military architecture in England and northern France, and has directed much historical and archaeological research on the Tower of London. SELLING POINTS: Tells the fascinating story of the London palace most closely associated with Diana, Princess of Wales Kensington Palace is one of London's most popular visitor attractions In the same series as The Tower of London: The Official Illustrated History, one of Merrell's best-selling titles 180 illustrations
