Royal Albert Hall - Grand Tour + Kensington Palace

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Royal Albert Hall - Grand Tour  Did you know? There are 13,000 “A”s for Albert around Hall The Hall is home to the world's largest single woven carpet design, made of 326,666 sheep fleeces and 49 million tufts getting it into the Guinness World Records The world’s biggest Christmas pudding was made at the Hall and weighed ten tonnes The first ever body-building contest and Sumo wrestling tournament outside Japan took place in the main auditorium The Elgar Room used to be home to the Central School of Speech & Drama, giving a stage to names including Sir Lawrence Olivier and Dame Judy Dench 5,500 bottles of champagne and 1,800 bottles of gin are drunk at the Hall every year Afternoon Tea was introduced to Britain by Queen Victoria. The first tea party was held at the Hall in 1912. The tradition continues today in the Hall's Verdi Restaurant The Royal Albert Hall Grand Tour is fully accessible.  Some time slots and/or dates are unavailable due to events taking place in the auditorium. The Royal Albert Hall was built to fulfil the vision of Prince Albert (Queen Victoria's consort) of a 'Central Hall' that would be used to promote understanding and appreciation of the Arts and Sciences and would stand at the heart of the South Kensington estate, surrounded by museums and places of learning. The Hall is a Grade I Listed building; and has been in continuous use since it was opened in March 1871. It was always conceived as a multipurpose building to host not only concerts of music but exhibitions, public meetings, scientific conversations and award ceremonies. It is a registered charity held in trust for the nation and is financially self sufficient, receiving no funding from central or local government. Kensington Palace and the Diana Exhibition Kensington Palace unveils a palace of secret stories and public lives. Visitors arrive through beautiful landscaped gardens evoking a past when Kensington was countryside. From the entrance hall start your journey through the magnificent Kings and Queen’s State Apartments. Filled with stories of two royal courts; the Stuarts and the Hanoverians, learn what you would have worn, how you should behave and how to succeed in the heady atmosphere of the palace state apartments. The Queen's State Apartments Explore these intimate, private rooms created for Queen Mary II, who ruled jointly with her husband, King William III, in the 17th century.  The Queen’s rooms The Queen's Staircase, little changed since its construction in 1690, is deliberately plainer than the King's. Mary would have glided down its steps to reach her beloved gardens, created in the Dutch style, through the door at its foot. Diana: Her Fashion Story ‘Diana: Her Fashion Story’ will trace the evolution of the Princess’s style, from the demure, romantic outfits of her first public appearances, to the glamour, elegance and confidence of her later life. From her earliest royal engagements, everything Diana wore was closely scrutinised, and the exhibition will explore how she navigated her unique position in the public eye: learning to use her image to engage and inspire people, and to champion the causes she cared about. Discover exquisite and celebrated outfits from throughout the Princess’s public life. The exhibition will bring together an extraordinary collection of garments, ranging from the glamorous evening gowns worn on engagements in the 1980s, to the chic Catherine Walker suits that made up Diana’s ‘working wardrobe’ in the 1990s. The Princess’s relationship with her favourite designers will be explored through a display of some of their original fashion sketches, created for her during the design process. Exhibition highlights will include the pale pink Emanuel blouse worn for Diana’s engagement portrait by Lord Snowdon in 1981, and Victor Edelstein’s iconic ink blue velvet gown, famously worn at the White House when the Princess danced with John Travolta. A blue tartan Emanuel suit, worn for an official visit to Venice in the 1980s, will go on display in public for the first time. The suit, a rare survival of the Princess’s daywear, was only recently rediscovered and acquired by Historic Royal Palaces – the charity responsible for Kensington Palace - at auction.  * Please note, this exhibit is due to be very popular, queues are to be expected.