Visiting Kensington Palace
Two things catch people out here more than anything else, and both are easy to plan around once you know them. The palace is shut on Mondays and Tuesdays, and it closes two hours earlier in winter than it does in summer. Everything below is what you need before you book a date.
Open Wednesday to Sunday — and shut on Mondays and Tuesdays
This is the fact worth reading twice. Kensington Palace opens five days a week, not seven. The two days it closes are the two most visitors have free at the start of a trip. The hours then move with the season, and so does the last time you can walk in.
| Season | Days | Open | Close | Last admission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 March to 31 October | Wednesday to Sunday | 10:00 | 18:00 | 17:00 |
| 1 November to 28 February | Wednesday to Sunday | 10:00 | 16:00 | 15:00 |
| 24 to 26 December | Closed | — | — | — |
Seasonal hours published by Historic Royal Palaces and checked in August 2026. Some listings and map entries still show a seven-day week at 10:00 to 18:00, which is the summer timetable applied to days the palace does not open. Check Historic Royal Palaces for your own date.
What you pay, and why every price list disagrees
Historic Royal Palaces adds an optional ten per cent donation at checkout. That explains something that looks like a contradiction across the web. One page quotes £24.70 and the next quotes £27.20, and both are quoting the same ticket. The lower figure is the admission; the higher one adds the donation, which you can decline.
| Ticket | Without donation | With the optional donation |
|---|---|---|
| Adult (18+) | £24.70 | £27.20 |
| Young person 16–17 | £12.40 | £13.70 |
| Child 5–15 | £12.40 | £13.70 |
| Senior 65+ | £20.00 | £22.00 |
| Student and disabled concession | £20.00 | £22.00 |
| Child under 5 | free | free |
| Groups of 15 or more | about £22.80 each | — |
Rates published by Historic Royal Palaces and checked in August 2026. Pages still quoting £20 for an adult are out of date. Buy from Historic Royal Palaces for the current figure on your date.
£1 tickets, and who can claim them
The scheme covers Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, Pension Credit, Child Tax Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance. If you receive one of them you can book up to four £1 tickets for your household. Book online in advance, because the allocation is fixed and it does sell out. Bring your benefit statement, one other piece of identification in the same name, and your booking PDF. Go straight to the ticket office rather than the gate.
Ninety minutes inside, two to three hours with the gardens
Historic Royal Palaces suggests about ninety minutes for the state apartments, and that is honest: this is a compact palace and you can finish it. What takes the extra time is everything outside the door. Here is how the day scales.
| What you want | Allow | What you will fit |
|---|---|---|
| The state rooms only | 90 minutes | King's Grand Staircase, Cupola Room, King's Gallery, Victoria's rooms |
| Palace and exhibition | 2 hours | All of the above plus the Jewel Room and the current show |
| Palace and gardens | 3 hours | Everything above, the Sunken Garden, the Round Pond, the Italian Gardens |
| A whole morning with children | 3 to 4 hours | The palace, the Diana Memorial Playground and lunch |
What is open in 2026, and what is not
The Queen's State Apartments closed on 15 June 2026 for a conservation and re-presentation project and reopen in spring 2027. Two of the booking listings still name them as a highlight, so it is worth knowing before you go which half of the building your ticket actually reaches. Everything below is open now and included in standard admission.
- The King's Grand Staircase, with William Kent's painted court looking down at you
- The Cupola Room, Kent's first commission for George I
- The King's Gallery, and the 1694 wind dial above its chimneypiece
- Victoria's childhood rooms, including the bedroom she was born in
- The Jewel Room, with Queen Victoria's emerald parure and the Fife tiara
- The Last Princesses of Punjab, from 26 March to 8 November 2026
- The multimedia guide, in nine languages and British Sign Language
That last line changes what an upgrade is worth. The palace does not allow guided commentary inside the State Apartments, so no operator can walk you round them. The handset is what everybody uses and it comes free. What a paid tour adds is the gardens explained out loud, the royal history in order, and a table held for you at the Orangery. The guided or on your own comparison sets out when that is worth paying for.
Ready to pick a way in?
Entry is in the price on some of these and a checkout upgrade on others, and that one line moves the real cost of an afternoon by about twenty-five pounds a head. The comparison puts it beside the guide, the group cap and the time you get inside.
Access, and which tours actually say so
The palace itself is accessible. Both entrance-ticket listings state wheelchair and stroller access, wheelchair-accessible surfaces and service animals welcome. The guided walks are where it varies, and the variation is not visible on a booking grid. Two of them state step-free access explicitly: the private tea tour, which says it can be adapted for anyone who finds walking difficult, and the Westminster combination. Say so when you book and the private operator will shape the route around it.
Before you leave home
- Bring photo identification. The entrance tickets check the lead traveller's name, and the ticket is valid only on the day you booked. Photograph your booking PDF as well and the gate is a formality.
- Travel light. Luggage and large bags are not allowed in, and there are bag searches at the entrance. Left luggage is not available on site.
- Aim for the first hour. Ten to eleven is the emptiest the King's State Apartments get. It is the difference between reading a room and queueing through it.
- Take something for rain. Every route to the door crosses open parkland. The tea tours walk for the best part of an hour before you sit down.
For the journey itself, getting here covers both tube stations and where each tour actually meets. The best time to visit takes the year month by month. To see what each room holds, what you see inside walks them in the order the handset does. Kensington Palace Tours sets every bookable way in side by side.