Royal spots in the Royal Borough In this Jubilee year, it seems appropriate to recall the other queen who celebrated a diamond jubilee and put the ‘royal’ into the Royal Borough. It was her son, Edward VII, who in 1901 conferred the status of Royal Borough on the Borough of Kensington in memory of his mother, Queen Victoria, who was born and brought up at Kensington Palace.
There was no reason to believe that the baby born on 24 May 1819 would give her name to 63 years that shaped Britain to such an extent that their influence is still felt today. She was the only child of George III’s son, Edward, Duke of Kent
and a German princess. Her birth was the result of a royal marriage race sparked-off by the death of Charlotte, the only child of George, the Prince Regent and eldest son of the King. Although George III had 15 children, Charlotte’s death meant that there was no direct heir to the throne in her generation. Parliament therefore demanded that the four unmarried sons of George III should do their duty, marry and produce an heir. Her christening in the Cupola Room
in Kensington Palace on 24 June 1819 was an ill-tempered affair. The Prince Regent was a godfather and had also been asked to approve her five names. He made no decision on her names until the actual christening when he
vetoed most of them leaving the baby with the names, Alexandrina Victoria, and her mother in tears. Victoria’s father died before she
was a year old and she grew up in a German-speaking household. Her mother was very protective of her for security reasons and her household developed the Kensington System which was a strict set of rules to ensure that Victoria had no influences outside of the palace and that she was never alone, even sharing a bedroom with her mother.
ROYAL FACTS Victoria moved to Buckingham Place in 1837 when she became Queen and never lived in Kensington again. To celebrate her reign, a monument was erected by the people of Kensington in 1904 on the corner of Kensington High Street and Kensington Church Street. This monument was later moved to Warwick Avenue where it can be seen from the Board Room at our offices in 346 Kensington High Street (below).
60 English Oaks for Jubilee To celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee KCTMO is running a scheme to plant 60 English Oak trees across our Royal Borough estates. Each tree planted will also have a plaque with it in recognition of this landmark occasion. If you would like an oak in your neighbourhood, contact Landscape Surveyor John Gaffney. 020 8964 6075
jgaffney@kctmo.org.uk
Red, white and blue We have lots of red, white and blue plants available for
bedding to mark the Diamond Jubilee! We are now accepting requests from Residents’ Associations for bedding plants to be planted on your estates this year. There is a limited amount of plants, request yours by 25 May 2012. 020 8964 6075
jgaffney@kctmo.org.uk
Beacons We’ll also be marking the Diamond Jubilee celebrations
with beacons on two of our estates. We’re working with the Council to make this happen and are happy to support the Jubilee celebrations. See our website for details closer to the time!
.
We’d love to see your photos of Jubilee parties, send them in!
editor@kctmo.org.uk
0800 137 111 •
WWW.KCTMO.ORG.UK
7
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16