There are plenty of great new exhibitions, events and activities on offer this Easter at Historic Royal Palaces, including the newly re-opened Kensington Palace following a major £12m transformation, our new exhibition The Wild, the Beautiful and the Damned at Hampton Court or the re-presentation of the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.


NEW!!
Kensington Palace Re-opening
26 March:
Opening on 26 March 2012, Kensington Palace will be transformed into an exciting, engaging and inspirational visitor experience, leaving visitors with a richer understanding of the palace’s unique history and telling the fascinating stories of its former royal residents like never before. Alongside the majestic 18th century State Apartments, which will be brought to life with innovative live performance and new displays from the palace’s Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, there will be a new permanent exhibition – Victoria Revealed – which explores Queen Victoria's life and reign through her own words. There will also be new visitor facilities including landscaped public gardens, gift shops, a café, and a £1 million Clore Learning Centre.

NEW!!
Victoria Revealed
Kensington Palace
26 March – 31 December
A new permanent exhibition exploring the life and reign of one of the palace’s most famous residents - Queen Victoria - in her own words. Inspired by extracts from the Queen’s own journals and correspondence, and featuring displays of personal objects and artworks in the very rooms where she once lived, the exhibition will present a truly intimate account of Victoria’s extraordinary life.

NEW!!
Crown Jewels Re-display
Tower of London
Opening 29 March
The newly refurbished Jewel House will be unveiled with new displays exploring the importance of the Crown Jewels to the British Monarchy, the role of the Tower in protecting these treasures and the long and fascinating tradition of coronations in England. The Coronation ceremony will be the central theme of the re-presentation. The displays will examine how the royal regalia are used during the ceremony, and explore the symbolism of each object. Destroyed at the Tower after the Civil War and remade for Charles II’s coronation in 1661, the Crown Jewels signify royal authority to lead, and protect, the nation.

OPEN!!
Kew Palace and Queen Charlotte’s Cottage – Open for summer season
2 April
This royal palace in the heart of Kew Gardens opens with stories of George III’s family life and eating habits. New exhibitions explore the food and dining experience in a Georgian royal household. Also new for the 2012 season will be children’s trails. To access the palace a Kew Gardens ticket must be purchased, Kids under 16 Go free when accompanied by an adult.

Elsewhere in the garden nestles Queen Charlotte’s cottage- an early example of a cottage orné, a rustic cottage built as a country retreat, but not as a residence. The cottage was used by the royal family in the late 18th century for resting and taking tea during walks in the gardens. Queen Charlotte’s cottage will open Good Friday 6 April – Monday 9 April and then each weekend throughout the summer.

NEW!!
The Wild, the Beautiful and the Damned,
Hampton Court Palace
5 April – 30 September
An exhibition about beauty, mistresses and debauchery at the Stuart Court. At the heart of the exhibition will be portraits of Charles II’s principal mistresses, including Nell Gwyn and Barbara Villiers, brought together at the palace for the first time. Also on display are the resident ‘beautiful women’ of the Royal Court. The exhibition explores the story of how kings, queens and courtesans swept away the Puritanical solemnity of the mid-17th century, and attempted to rewrite the moral code of social behaviour.

Twilight Tours
Tower of London
Every Wednesday until 28 March
Starting at 7.00pm
Join a Yeoman Warder on an exclusive tour of the Tower, taking in some of the gruesome sights and spooky stories which make it world famous.

You will have unique afterhours access to the UK’s most visited historic attraction, and can enjoy it at its most tranquil (and its most spooky!) Take in world famous sights such as Traitors’ Gate, the Scaffold Site and the Bloody Tower, and be appalled and amazed by tales of prisoners and past residents, of royal gossip and of the secrets kept within these ancient walls.

This is an outdoor tour, over uneven cobbles and up spiral stone staircases, which does not include the Crown Jewels. Over 12’s only.

Tickets cost £25 per person. Advance booking is essential. To book call 0844 482 7799 (£2 transaction fee)

Tudor cookery
Hampton Court Palace
3 – 4 March, 6 – 9 April
The Tudor kitchens at Hampton Court Palace are famous throughout the world for being those of King Henry VIII. Which dishes made a Tudor tummy rumble? Experience real smells and sounds in Henry VIII’s Kitchens as history chefs prepare a royal feast.

Susan Alexander-Max
Banqueting House
5 March, 7pm
Music by Bach, Mozart and Beethoven for the fortepiano and clavichord followed by buffet supper. Tickets £28 each

Tickets available from the Banqueting House or by telephoning 020 3166 6153. Enquiries may be made by email to valerie.jarvis@hrp.org.uk

Florimania 2012 - All the King's Flowers
Hampton Court Palace
16 - 18 March
See stunning baroque-inspired floral arrangements in King William III's apartments this mothering Sunday weekend. Admire carefully crafted, beautiful flower arrangements as the Surrey Area of the National Association of Flower Arranging Societies take their inspiration from the baroque splendour of William III's State Apartments. Flower arranging demonstrations will be available at 11:30, 12:30 and 14:00 each day.

Chamber Ensemble of London
Banqueting House
26 March, 1pm
Lunchtime concert to celebrate the Olympics with a variety of sport themed music including Chariots of Fire and Ski Sunday followed by a light buffet lunch from 12.15. Tickets £22.50 each.

Tickets available from the Banqueting House or by telephoning 020 3166 6153. Email enquiries may be made to valerie.jarvis@hrp.org.uk

EASTER!!
Victoriana
Kensington Palace
31 March – 9 April
11.00 – 16.00
Come and join us in celebrating the lives of Victoria and Albert. Learn about the main characters in Queen Victoria’s life through storytelling, games and craft activities. Kids go free when accompanied by an adult.

EASTER!!
Easter at Hampton Court Palace,
Hampton Court Palace
6 – 9 April
Join King Henry VIII and his queen, Jane Seymour, at their pleasure palace by the Thames for the Easter celebrations.

Catch members of the Tudor Court as they mingle in the courtyards and passageways, halls and chambers of the palace. But remember, choose your friends and enemies wisely. Even those closest to the King don't know what fate may await them...

Also, collect our special Easter egg hunt family trail from the Information Centre. Once complete return to get an 'eggstra' special prize!

Salacious Gossip Tours
Hampton Court Palace
8 April - 25 May
Every Friday and Sunday evening. See the Baroque palace in a more intimate light and hear the scandalous stories of life in the Baroque court. From Charles II to George II, explore the tales of mistresses and gossip we dare not tell you during the day. Our guides tell the risqué stories that are just too naughty for younger and more delicate ears, dealing with darker and more delicious themes. This is a chance to experience the palace out of hours and those areas of history that have been overlooked by more traditional historians.


Pudden and Pye
Hampton Court Palace
9 April
Join Hampton Court Palace’s History Cooks in creating your own Stuart feast! The development of the pudding cloth and refinements in pastry making led to the creation of two Stuart (and British) favourites – pudding and pie.

The pudding and pie recipes you will work from have been taken from Stuart manuscripts and each one has been chosen to demonstrate techniques and flavours that are no longer commonly used in modern cuisine.

Working both individually and together as a group, you can take your completed dishes home or taste as you cook. This is a great opportunity to work with Hampton Court Palace’s resident history cooks.

All ingredients supplied.

Ticket cost £49 and includes light refreshments and entry to Hampton Court Palace.

The Beautiful Life: Fashion, Entertainment and Performance at the late Stuart Court
Hampton Court Palace
17 April, 6.30pm
Join Olivia Fryman, co-author of Beauty, Sex and Power: A Story of Debauchery and Decadent Art at the Late Stuart Court (1660 – 1714) and our Past Pleasures Costumed Interpreter as they discuss Court rules of fashion and etiquette, and how they were understood during the late 17th century. Court life was glamorous and lucrative, with access to the most important and wealthiest sources of patronage, titles and influence in the country. Yet it could also be a road to social, moral and financial ruin. A ‘beautiful performance’ was read both as a sign of inner goodness and virtue and as a tool of vice and ambition. Olivia and Past Pleasures will discuss the 17th-century Court experience and the significance of fashion, entertainment and performance within that world.

Ticket cost £12 and event includes a drinks reception.

Discover St George
Kew Palace
22 April
Bring the family along to Kew Palace and learn about St George through arts and crafts activities.

The Jewel in the Crown
Tower of London
26 April, 6.30pm
Join Harbinder Singh from the Anglo Sikh Heritage Trail and HRP Curator Sally Dixon-Smith as they explore the significance of the Koh-i-Nûr diamond. Harbinder will discuss the diamond’s place in Indian history, specifically focusing on the Sikh rulers, whilst Sally will talk about the current position of the stone within the Crown Jewels.

Steeped in myth and superstition, the Koh-i-Nûr or ‘Mountain of Light’, is one of the most famous diamonds in the world. Originating in the famed mines of Deccan, India, its legendary history extends over 5000 years. Like many other great jewels, the diamond changed hands following the holders of power, belonging to Hindu, Mughal, Turkic, Afghan and Sikh rulers, the last of whom was Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It came to England in the 19th century at the end of the Anglo-Sikh Wars, and was presented to Queen Victoria.

Tickets cost £12 per person and includes a drinks reception.