0 Would You Credit It? - Top 10 Most Read Blog Posts.

It's New Year and I'm feeling a little lazy, so I decided to investigate the most viewed posts on my blog.
The results left me speechless!
Who'd have believed that the number one most popular post is about....ahem....well you'll have to scroll down to find out. Needless to say, I have NO idea why this niche topic has proved so constitantly popular with over 32,000 hits!
Anyhow, here is a run down of the most viewed posts on my blog.
Enjoy!  (PS - Click on the links to read the actual post.)

Number 10
"Kensington Palace - At Home With the King."
http://historynromance.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/kensington-palace-at-home-with-king.html

Queen Victoria's statue with Kensington Palace in the background.

A personal take on a royal palace.

Number 9
"The Canary Isles - Going To The Dogs."
http://historynromance.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/canary-isles-going-to-dogs.html

Canary Dogs.

It turns out the 'canary' part of the Canary Isles - isn't really to do with birds at all!

Number 8
"Dog and Cat Diaries"
http://historynromance.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/dog-and-cat-diaries-new-year-treat.html

The secret diary of a dog and cat - beautifully highlighting the difference between the species.

Number 7
"Cats and The Possessed"
http://historynromance.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/cats-and-possessed.html

Proof that cats are agents of paranormal forces.

Number 6
"How Many Wives Did Henry VIII Have?"
http://historynromance.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/how-many-wives-had-henry-viii.html

Holbein's portrait of Anne of Cleves.
Henry's fourth wife....or was she?

You may think the answer is obvious, but this post is a bit of a tease.

Number 5
"Bizarre Tudor Deaths."
http://historynromance.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/bizarre-tudor-deaths.html

The title says it all: Strange ways people met their demise, in Tudor times.

Number 4
"Miraculously Improbable - The Crystal Palace."
http://historynromance.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/miraculously-improbable-crystal-palace.html

The interior of Crystal Palace.

What links Crystal Palace and Christmas cards? Read this post to find the answer.

Number 3
"London Bridge Legends"
http://historynromance.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/london-bridge-legends.html

A post inspired by my poor sense of direction.

Number 2
"Exit Napoleon Pursued by Rabbits."
http://historynromance.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/exit-napoleon-pursued-by-rabbits.html

The true story of an Emperor's fear of small, fluffy bunnies...

Number 1
"Cats Eyes - Seeing is Believing" -
Would you credit it? The MOST viewed post ever on my blog, with over 32,000 hits since it was first posted!
http://historynromance.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/cats-eyes-seeing-is-believing.html

A post about, ahem, cats eyes - those reflective studs in the road!
Truly, if you have any idea why this post should generate such sustained interest ( averages around 600 hits a week) then do please leave a comment and enlighten me - because I have no idea.

A very happy 2013 to you all!
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Detail: Would You Credit It? - Top 10 Most Read Blog Posts.

0 Kensington Palace - At Home With The King.

Kensington Palace and grounds - in its 18th century heyday.

The surprising thing about Kensington Palace is its sense of intimacy. In last week's post I mentioned the Grand Staircase which is awe-inspiring but because of the cheeky, boldness of the Georgian mural, rather than its scale. At the top of the stairs, you turn right to enter the King's Presence Chamber - similar in size to a modern sitting room - rather than some huge, palatial chamber. However, this is where the comparison ends because the decoration is gorgeous and gaudy, leaving the visitor in no doubt they are in entering into a royal presence.

The gilded chair on which the King sat to recieve courtiers.
This one belonged to George II's son, Frederick.

 But then the palace plays a trick - the deeper in you go the larger and grander the rooms become. In the Georgian court you either had to be a person of great importance, or else afford ever increasing bribes, to progress further.

The room that most took my breath away was the Cupola room. It is overwhelmingly opulent with its fantastically painted ceiling with the Star of the Order of the Garter as the centre piece. The décor was designed by William Kent (see last week's post) and his first commission for George I.

The ceiling in the Cupola Room
(Thank you KP for allowing photos, but alas not flash photography.)

Kent was a controversial choice because his art was different - and in time came to set the tone for the Georgian era. His greatest rival, Sir James Thornhill was most put out that Kentwon the job and his friends tried to undermine the young artist by casting aspersions on the quality of his work. They accused Kent of cutting costs by using inferior quality paint, especially when it came to the gilding - modern tests proved their claims to be false.

The Cupola Room - it was here Victoria was baptised.

It was in the Cupola Room that the future Queen Victoriawas baptised. Her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, were joined by the Prince Regent (later King George IV). It was George who decided the baby's name: Alexandrina (after the Russian Tsar) Victoria(after her mother).

Statue of Victoria in her coronation robes, in front of Kensington Palace.
Victoria was born at the palace.

As the size of the rooms increases, so they become less personal. Although a grand chamber, the King's Gallery lacks a human feel, although many events of historical importance took place here. Today the gallery is hung with red damask, which in 1725 replaced the original green velvet.

 

The King's Gallery, as it is today.

The first monarch to use the gallery was William III - he received his spies and planned military campaigns here. He even had a wind dial linked to the room so he could see if the winds were set fair for an invasion fleet to cross the English Channel. He held his 50th birthday party here…and it was also said to be the room where he caught the chill that eventually killed him.

The statue of William III outside Kensington Palace.

George I filled the gallery with fabulous paintings, of which the most famous are Tintoretto's "The Muses" and "Ester before Ahasuerus" and Van Dyck's portrait of Charles I. When King George inspected the room shortly after its completion he was said to be 'well pleased.'

 

The fireplace in the King's Gallery.

The future Queen Victoriawas born at Kensington Palace and as she grew into a young lady evidently she needed more space. Her mother's solution was to divide the king's gallery into three. The alteration caused consternation but Victoria records her delight in her journal:

"…three lofty, fine cheerful rooms. One...is my sitting room and very prettily furnished indeed."

Later in the 19th century the room was restored to its previous design.

 

Widget says "A palace isn't a home without a cat...or five."

Detail: Kensington Palace - At Home With The King.

0 Kensington Palace - Hotbed of Gossip.

The King's Grand Staircase - all images on the walls are paint effects.
Painted by William Kent 1726 and still stunningly modern.

Inspired by Lucy Worsley's book, "Courtiers- the Secret History of the Georgian Court", my appetite was whetted to visit Kensington Palace. In particular, I wanted to see the King's Grand Staircase with its cheeky portraits of Georgian courtiers captured in a strikingly modern poses.

 

Lucy Worsley's captivating book
about the intrigue in the Georgian Court.

The sweeping mural that lines the staircase shows a snapshot of the royal household from Peter the Wild-Boy to the King's mistress, from Mohammed (the King's advisor) to the artist William Kent who painted the scene. To enter the hall and walk up the staircase, is spell-binding and I couldn't help but stop and stare in wonder. A vibrancy and sense of life oozes from the walls such that you can hear the scuttle of silk slippers and gossip whispered behind hands.

A better view of the Grand Staircase (portrait mural to the left
and at the head of the stairs.)

There is a sense of fun, playfulness and intrigue about these portraits that must have caused huge a stir at the time. Added to that, I imagine being an outsider visiting George I, and seeing portraits of plotting courtiers, must have been terribly intimidating.

The Grand Staircase photographed around 1870, during Victoria's reign.
Victoria was born at Kensington palace and it was here that she
learnt of her acsession to the throne.
 

Kensington Palace has undergone several reincarnations. In the 1600's it started out as a modest mansion, Nottingham House, in what was a rural landscape near London. When William III wanted a country retreat from the pressures of Whitehall, he found this the ideal solution, bought the property for 20,000 pounds and employed Christopher Wren to redesign it.

Queen Victoria in her coronation robes - set in front of Kensington Palace.
The princess was living here when she learnt of her ascession to the throne.

Decades came and went and William's Kensington Palacefell into disuse until George I arrived from Germany. Even though the building was by now neglected in poor repair, the new king declared "I like it very much" and set about a raft of renovation and remodelling. The most stunning of these innovations was employing the controversial, up-and-coming artist, William Kent.

One of the trompe l'oiel paint effects on the staircase.
Apologies for the under exposure.

 My reaction on seeing Kent's staircase mural was bewilderment. I was confused. The fresco style and trompe l'eoil effects so fresh and flirtatious that I thought I'd wandered into a modern interpretation of Kent's work. But no, these playful visual effects are the real thing! [Sadly, I have found no copyright free images to show you. All power to Kensington Palace for allowing photography, albeit without flash, so please excuse the underexposed photos from my pocket camera - but I wanted to give you a flavour of what I saw.]

A pitiful photograph (by me!) of a wonderful paint effect - and this
isnt even the main event (which are the courtiers - sadly too dark to photograph)

If ever you have the opportunity to visit Kensington Palace, I can highly recommend it - worthwhile for the staircase alone! Kensington Palace has so many extraordinary stories of royalty and intrigue to tell - more of this in future posts when some of the gossip and scandal is revealed!

William III, Kensington Palace.

Detail: Kensington Palace - Hotbed of Gossip.