Queen Charlotte's Cottage

Make your way down through Kew Gardens and along the riverside to find Queen Charlotte’s Cottage – a secluded retreat used by Queen Charlotte, her husband George III and their family for resting and taking tea during walks in the gardens. 

The origins of Kew Gardens can be found in its use as a royal pleasure ground. The Royal Family made Kew their home, including this cottage situated in a secluded part of the gardens known as the wilderness. 

Discover an intimate family space

As you explore this ornamental cottage, be sure to watch out for clues as to its royal owners. The most surprising clue might be in the Print Room, which is decorated with two Hogarth sequences named The Harlot’s Progress and The Rake’s Progress respectively. Both sequences were designed as moralising stories, probably for young women, and depict the descent of human nature from a position of innocence and virtue to dissipation and corruption.  

In the Picnic Room, the trellis is believed to have been decorated by Princess Elizabeth, George and Charlotte’s daughter, who was a talented artist. The Princess perhaps painted this in preparation for a tea party for her father, after he had recovered from a bout of illness. Sadly, the party did not go ahead, but the trellis reminds us that this was once a place of happiness and togetherness for George and his family. 

There are also signs of the people who worked ‘below stairs’ to help the royal family make the most of their time here. Service bells used by the royal family to call for their tea can still be seen today, as well as a modest kitchen with a hearth for boiling a kettle. No matter how intimate this space, people worked around the clock to ensure that the King and Queen had everything they required.