I have a confession to make: in all my 7 years in London I had never, ever been to Kew Gardens! Aya – who used to work at Kew for many years – thought it was time to change that once and for all. And so on a sunny but very windy Sunday afternoon we set off. M
There’s so much to see in Kew Gardens.
But especially in Spring when everything is in bloom.
Besides, it was so lovely having Aya by my side. She is so knowledgeable about everything and it pretty much felt like having my own personal tour guide.
We started at the palace.
On the outside, the palace may not look like much. It looks more like a house. That was because essentially it was built to be a house for a wealthy merchant in the 17th century.
Later on when king George III moved in, it became a palace.
And the gardens really feel like you just walked into an episode of Bridgerton.
Are you as excited for the new season as I am?
When planning our day Aya mentioned that she loved going back to her old workplace and stalking her former colleagues. I said that if I worked at Kew I probably would be doing the same thing. However, it would be a bit odd if I started doing this at my former workplace considering the fact that they’re all mental health clinics. To this Aya mentioned that that was essentially what Kew used to be as well. I wasn’t quite sure what she meant but it became clear when we arrived at the palace.
You may know King George III struggled with a variety of mental health conditions. Now mental healthcare in the 18th century wasn’t exactly what it is today. They didn’t know much about it, let alone how to treat it. Given the fact that psychology as a field didn’t emerge until the late 19th, early 20th century.
It was quite unclear what he suffered from. Some scholars think it might have been bipolar disorder, some others think it was a condition of the liver that triggered his manic episodes. But obviously we’ll never know.
What we do know was that the treatment he received was essentially torture and designed to humiliate and humble him and it was awful.
King George used to live in the palace along with his wife Queen Charlotte and their daughters. The couple had 15 children but they didn’t all live here, because the palace was way too small for that.
Queen Charlotte and her daughters spent most of their days waiting for news about the king and how he was doing. This meant they spent most of their days in this room keeping themselves occupied with card games, sewing and other activities 18th century women were expected to do.
When wandering through the palace you can have a little glimpse into Queen Charlotte’s bedroom.
With her curtain bed and the chair she died in at the age of 74. It was a peaceful death surrounded by family, so I guess there are worse ways to go. And 74 was very old for that time, given that the life expectancy in the 18th century was around 40 years old.
Next to Queen Charlotte’s bedroom was that of her daughter princess Elizabeth.
I love the bed, although it is a bit short because people used to sleep sitting up. There was something about lying down supposedly being bad for you because bad air was heavier than good air, bugs possibly falling into your mouth and digestion.
Speaking of elderly Queens and Elizabeths. Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 80th birthday in this palace as well.
When we left the palace we crossed through a field full of daisies. So bright that it almost looked like it had snowed.
Besides the palace, there’s so much more to see in Kew Gardens, so I thought I might write a separate blog post on that.
Because this one is getting pretty long already.
Get ready for more Bridgerton-style spring posts coming up soon!