Kensington Palace - birthplace of Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria's dolls' house

 When I was a very young girl, my grandma gave me what seemed to me then, an enormous and very important book," V.R.I. Her Life and Empire, by the Marquis of Lorne, K.T. Now His Grace, The Duke of Argyll". I proudly wrote my name just inside the front cover in purple biro - a fitting royal colour! This large volume with its somewhat faded red cover was fascinating, with  its photographs, paintings  and drawings of and also by the the young Princess Victoria, a talented artist. She was crowned Queen in 1837 at the age of just 18.   I was entranced by the pictures of her beloved pets, dogs and horses, and a parrot called Lori, as well as the portraits of glamorous  ladies in waiting and family members with elaborate hairstyles, and the costumes were delightful! My grandma made a jacket for my  doll, based on one worn by the queen in one of  the pictures! I would have loved a dolls' house just like the one in the picture, and  I saw this very thing for the first time last week on a visit to Kensington Palace, where Queen Victoria was born. I was also  pleased to  discover many familiar portraits from my book, including some of the Queen's pets!
Unlike Buckingham Palace, which has recently had a lovely set of stamps issued showing it in its many forms over the years, this stamp below is the only one depicting Kensington Palace. It was issued in 1980 as part of a set of  London Landmarks, illustrated by  architect Sir Hugh Casson.

The Palace  is a treasure trove of Royal history. In 1689 Nottingham House, the first building on this site was transformed into Kensington Palace for William III and Mary II. In 1722 a new set of state rooms were decorated for George I by William Kent and he was also commissioned to decorate the King's Staircase shown below.  A recent exhibition called The Glorious Georges had finished before our visit but there are some exhibits of costumes still remaining, such as this fine example of a Mantua worn by ladies of the court.

Costumes from the Glorious Georges exhibition 

The King's Staircase

A story  which certainly captured my imagination was that of Peter the Wild boy,
 found abandoned and wandering in a forest in Hanover by the royal hunting party. They took him back to England almost as a sort of "pet" to live and eventually be brought up at the court. He often escaped so a leather collar was made for him asking for him to be returned. This is also exhibited at Kensington Palace.  His story is told in Lucy Worsley's fascinating book, Courtiers. He wears a green coat in the painting by William Kent on the King's Staircase,  in the cente, left panel.

The palace contains many fine portraits of the royal families who have lived there, including of course Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert, and their nine children. Princess Diana also lived here, and some of the famous dresses she wore to state occasions are on show, along with those of the Queen and Princess Margaret. Kensington Palace is now the London residence of  the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and their son Prince George.


 
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No grouting required for these beautiful tiles!

 Don't even ask how many photographs I took featuring tiles, or Azulejos in Portuguese, while in Lisbon, but if you are really keen to see some of them, check out my pinterest pages for Portuguese Azulejos and also Tiles and Mosaics!Azulejos have been used to decorate the buildings of Lisbon, both inside and out,  since the Portuguese tile industry became established, influenced by the Moorish decorations of Spanish tiles and ceramics.
They had a practical as well as decorative purpose, protecting buildings against fires, after much of the city was devastated by fires during the Great earthquake in the 18th century. We visited the wonderful  Museu Nacional do Azulejo set in the church and cloisters of Madre de Deus  but soon realised that the whole of Lisbon is like  a living tile museum!

Attractive tiling adorns shops,private houses  and cafes, such as the Leiteria Anunciada in Rua de Sao  Jose, a former dairy, shown below.

A recently published specialist guide book documents some of these attractive buildings and shops. It's called Old Charm Lisbon, Retro and Vintage Establishments by Ana Da Silva.

 As a stamp collector I was pleased to discover that there are quite a lot of Portuguese stamps depicting  tiles including  these in the  Castel Sao Jorge.

 Several series of stamps were also issued in 1980s which I have now added to my collection. (top of page) .They were issued in sets of four different tiles and also sheets of six of each.
Tiles on Stamps - cheaper than the real thing, and they don't need all that grouting!

The Heart of the Matter

I'm enjoying working on a series of "Designer" heart stamp collages.
 I have several examples of  rather eye catching stamps from several French Valentine's day  issues.
 The stamps and miniature sheets have used well known fashion houses' motifs, including Hermes, Cacharel,  and Givenchy.  One of these heart stamps was used  in the centre of a heart collage commissioned last year, and I liked the idea of making some more of these as I feel they definitely have a "feel good factor".
Stamps from all over the world are included in my latest Heart designs, as well as romantic and pretty  stamps such as  lacy hearts from USA,  as well as many flowery  pink and red stamps and some whose theme is simply, LOVE!

Love the postmark, Darling!

I set myself a goal and have just achieved it, which is a good feeling - just completed  another heart stamp collage!It looks simple, but seems to take much longer than you would imagine to find the right things to make up the design.

Happily, I  found a stamp from a letter which was obviously posted in Darlington,but only has the first part of the word on the actual stamp and in a Heart, the word Darling seems very appropriate!