Historic Royal Palaces was established by the government in 1989 to care for five royal palaces: the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, and Banqueting House. We later became an independent charity in 1998 and, in 2014, took over the management of Hillsborough Castle and Gardens in Northern Ireland.
Kensington Palace was once a small and suburban villa, known as Nottingham House. New monarchs William III and Mary II chose this modest mansion in 1689 to be their country retreat. Over the years, Stuart and Georgian monarchs transformed the palace into a fashionable home for Britain’s young royal families. Queen Caroline shaped the palace and gardens, and Queen Victoria spent her childhood here. She left to live in Buckingham Palace in 1837. Kensington later became home for minor royals, including her daughter, the talented sculptor Princess Louise. More recent inhabitants include Diana, Princess of Wales, Princess Margaret, and TRH The Prince and Princess of Wales and their children.
Pre-2010, Kensington Palace was a quiet Visitor Attraction nobody knew about, and in 2010-2012 Historic Royal Palaces undertook a major redevelopment project, opening more of the Palace and Gardens to the public. Since then, it has become a major Visitor Attraction in Central London, with regular blockbuster fashion exhibitions.
Visitor Support is the main volunteering role currently available at Kensington Palace. This is a visitor-facing role that involves assisting visitors where needed and engaging with them to create a memorable experience. These roles are managed by the Operations team.
Kensington Palace is open to the public on Wednesdays – Sundays 10:00 - 16:00 during the winter months. Between March and October, the palace is open from 10:00 – 18:00 (last entry 17.00) and 7 days a week during the height of the season.
There are three main routes and one temporary exhibition for visitors. The King's State Apartment, The Queen's State Apartments and Victoria: A Royal Childhood. Our temporary exhibition usually runs yearly in the Pigott Gallery, previous years have included Diana's Fashion Story, Life Through a Royal Lens, Crown to Couture and Untold Lives.
Kensington Palace also is host to many schools and & community groups. Community events are held regularly to make our palaces more accessible and relevant to all visitors.
Volunteering roles for Schools & Communities at Kensington Palace are managed by the Public Engagement team. If you are interested in these roles please get in touch and we can refer you to the team who will confirm their availability for roles.
Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity, who love and look after six of the most wonderful palaces in the world; Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Banqueting House, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, and Hillsborough Castle and Gardens.
We raise funds so that our palaces can be open and accessible to everyone. That means conserving these iconic buildings and collections, conducting research into their rich history, and telling the stories of the palaces and the people who occupied them in new and inspiring ways.
Unlike many national museums and heritage sites across the UK, we receive no ongoing government support. We rely on the support of donors, partners, patrons, members and visitors to help us create accessible and engaging experiences across our palaces.
There are many ways you can support us and help give our palaces a future, for everyone. Volunteers support the palaces in many different ways, from helping to welcome our visitors to supporting our learning and engagement team with family learning activities.
Memorable Experiences
Going above and beyond to create personalised experiences that inspire and provoke change.
Simplify & Adapt
Cutting through complexity to find simple solutions and encourage agile ways of working.
Money Matters
Generating the money to grow our impact and care for our palaces; creating a culture of getting better value and increasing our financial headroom.
Fresh Thinking
Demonstrating the courage to push the boundaries, striving to stretch ourselves.
In this Together
Working collaboratively across the organisation, investing time in building trusted relationships to create 'one team – one HRP'.
Inspire Success
Enabling and supporting your staff to succeed.
"It's a rare experience to work somewhere in which a building’s art, architecture, history and political significance carry such a degree of importance to the nation." Emily Thorne, Visitor Services Assistant
We believe our volunteers provide an important and invaluable link between the historic buildings in our care, our visitors, and the local community.
Volunteers complement and support the work of our staff, developing new talents for themselves. This enables us to further enrich and enhance the visitor experience and to undertake projects that we would not normally be able to carry out.
Volunteering with us gives you the opportunity to grow as an individual, as well as the following:
- Discover more about our palaces and take a look behind the scenes.
- Meet new friends
- Develop your interpersonal skills by engaging with visitors from all over the world.
Whatever your interests, volunteering can expand your horizons, open up new possibilities and uncover hidden interests and talents.
We offer our volunteers the following:
- Induction, training and ongoing support in their roles.
- Free individual entrance to all HRP sites and a discount in our shops.
- 50% discount on food and drink in our cafes.
- Travel expenses reimbursed (including mileage for cars).
- Volunteer parties, events, and trips to visit other heritage and cultural organisations.
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