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Princesses' Bedrooms

Wander the bedrooms of Princesses Elizabeth, Augusta and Amelia

The Princesses' Bedrooms at Kew Palace were once occupied by Princesses Elizabeth, Augusta and Amelia – the daughters of George III and Queen Charlotte. They offer a unique view into the lives of Georgian royalty.

During George III’s various bouts of ill health, Charlotte became increasingly anxious to keep her daughters close at hand to provide company and emotional support.

Princess Elizabeth's bedroom

Princess Elizabeth was her parents' third daughter. She acted as a constant companion and aide to her mother. When Kew Palace was re-decorated for royal occupation in 1804–5, Elizabeth was given one of the best apartments on the first floor, close to her mother.

Elizabeth was the most artistic of George III and Queen Charlotte’s children and re-decorated Queen Charlotte’s Cottage and Frogmore House, Windsor. Her own room in Kew Palace was no exception. Royal household accounts from the early 1800s provide a clear picture of the decoration and furnishing of Princess Elizabeth’s bedroom, which has been recreated in the room you can see today.

The walls were lined to create arched recesses in the style of the architect Sir John Soane, and hung with green verditer wallpaper. Traces of the original wallpaper can still be seen in the room today.

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Closed for winter


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Included in Kew Gardens admission

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Bedrooms of Princess Augusta and Amelia

On the second floor, you can see the bedrooms of Princess Augusta and Princess Amelia. The unrestored section shows traces of the original verditer wallpaper, a Gothic fireplace acquired at her request for Princess Amelia and early 19th-century paint finishes.

While exploring these rooms listen out for the music, which is a modern version of Handel's Sarabande in D Minor, which was one of George III's favourite pieces. The sounds of the harpsichord and flute would have been familiar to the princesses, as their father played his flute during his stays in Kew Palace while being treated for his illness.

Damp and unfit for a queen

Kew Palace was the smallest of the royal palaces; although the room furnishings were expensive and elegant, it did not meet the usual royal standards found in Windsor or London homes.  

Princess Elizabeth complained that Kew Palace was damp and unfit to house her mother during her final illness. Writing to her eldest brother, she described the palace with sarcasm as 'this beautiful chateau'. The politician Horace Walpole joked that the bedrooms of the princesses at Kew Palace were so small that they were forced to hang their dresses on the backs of their bedroom doors. 

Princess Elizabeth's Bedroom. East elevation. View looking through a doorway

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Queen Charlotte's Cottage

Discover a queen's rustic country retreat in the grounds of Kew Palace with a visit to Queen Charlotte’s Cottage.

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  • Kew Palace
  • Included in Kew Gardens admission
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  • Tours and talks

The Great Pagoda

See The Great Pagoda at Kew Palace, now returned to its 18th-century splendour.

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  • Kew Palace
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Queen Charlotte's Boudoir

A private sitting room where the Queen and her daughters passed hours waiting for news from doctors about the King's treatment.

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  • Kew Palace
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Browse more history and stories

Queen Charlotte

Wife of George III and mother to 15 children

George III, the Complex King

Dutiful, intelligent and cultured, but cruelly labelled ‘mad’

The story of Kew Palace

Britain's smallest royal palace and George III's private retreat

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