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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Kensington Palace
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(London W8) An early 17C house on this site was bought by *William III in 1689. *Wren was instructed to adapt it for royal use, with *Hawksmoor as clerk of the works. Improvements continued over several decades; *Kent painted the gallery of watching courtiers on the King's Staircase in the 1720s. In the next century the palace was particularly associated with Victoria. In it she was born, christened, brought up and told of her accession; on her 70th birthday, in 1889, she opened the state apartments to the public (*Kensington Gardens had been open since the 1830s). Members of the royal family have continued to live in other parts of the palace.
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