Kew Palace is the name used at different times by three different buildings built in the same area, called Kew, in the London area of Richmond upon Thames. One of them has survived to this day and is the smallest building that ever had the status of the British Royal Palace.
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First Palace
The first building, called Kew Palace, was built in 1631 as the residence of the wealthy Capel family. At that time, one of the brides from this family brought him as a dowry to her husband, Samuel Molyneux, personal secretary of King George II. For many years, the royal palace of Molyneux was occupied by his son, Prince Frederick, for whom he was one of his favorite residences. Later, however, the palace lost its meaning. It has not survived to our times.
Second Palace
In 1802, by order of King George III, work began on the construction of the so-called New Kew Palace, built in a luxurious neo-Gothic style. It was located in a large park known as Kew Gardens. When in 1810 the king was declared unable to take the throne due to a mental illness, his wife, Queen Charlotte, was offered to own the palace. When she refused, the large building was abandoned, and in 1828 the parliament decided that it was too expensive to maintain, and ordered its demolition.
Kew Modern Palace
The building, now known as Kew Palace, was built in 1663 by a Dutch merchant, to whom it owed its original name, the Dutch House. It was and remains a relatively modest villa, located opposite the place where the New Palace was then built. The Dutch Lovett family sold it; starting in 1734, it was rented by the royal court and served as the residence of the ruling family. In 1781, George III finally bought it. During the construction of the new palace, the Dutch house served the king as a convenient place to live, from which he could constantly observe the work on the construction of the palace. After the refusal to accept the New Palace by Queen Charlotte, it was this building that became the residence occupied by her until her death in 1818. When Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, she transferred (subsequently) most of Kew Gardens to public ownership (the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens , now a UNESCO World Heritage Site) arose. Among the buildings that remained in her ownership was the Dutch House, now known as Kew Palace.
In 1996-2006, a large-scale reconstruction was carried out in the building, and now it is available to the public. The building is one of the local cultural heritage [2] .
Notes
- ↑ National Heritage List for England
- ↑ Kew Palace (unavailable link) . List entry . English Heritage . Date of treatment September 3, 2013. Archived on February 28, 2015.