Damp and unfit for a queen
Princess Elizabeth complained that Kew Palace was damp and unfit to house her mother during her final illness.
Writing to her eldest brother, the princess described the palace with sarcasm as 'this beautiful chateau', so although the furnishings were certainly elegant, the house as a royal residence was not up to the usual royal standards.
The politician Horace Walpole joked the princesses were so cramped in their bedrooms they were forced to hang their dresses on the backs of their bedroom doors.
