Famous People Who Live in Kensington: Past and Present
Famous Residents of Kensington: Royals, Writers, and Modern Celebrities
Kensington in London has long been an enclave for the rich, powerful, and creative. This elegant district – centered around Kensington High Street, the gardens and palace – has been home to royalty, politicians, writers, musicians, actors and more. From Kensington Palace’s royal inhabitants to the artistic souls who penned classics in its townhouses, the area boasts a rich tapestry of famous residents. In this post, we explore notable people who have lived in Kensington, past and present, highlighting their residences, lifestyles, and the mark they left on history and culture.
Royalty in Kensington
Kensington Palace and Historic Royals
Kensington’s royal legacy began in 1689 when King William III and Queen Mary II purchased a Jacobean mansion called Nottingham House and transformed it into Kensington Palace. They sought a healthier location away from the River Thames’ damp air for William’s asthma, and the small country house in Kensington was soon expanded by Sir Christopher Wren into a fine palace. William and Mary’s investment of £20,000 created a royal refuge of gardens and grand apartments. Queen Anne further beautified the palace and added the famous orangery and formal gardens in the early 1700s. By the 18th century, Kensington Palace was firmly established as a favorite residence for British monarchs – King George II was the last reigning monarch to live there full-time, and thereafter it became home to junior royals and royal relatives.
For example, King George III’s son, Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, had lavish apartments there filled with a 50,000-volume library and even pet birds flying freely among his books. His learned lifestyle in the palace included hosting scientific gatherings as President of the Royal Society, turning Kensington into an unlikely hub of intellectual society. Princess Victoria (the future Queen Victoria) was born at Kensington Palace on 24 May 1819, in the suite of rooms occupied by her father, the Duke of Kent. The young Victoria endured a sheltered childhood under the strict “Kensington System” imposed by her mother, and it was within these very palace walls that she awoke one morning in June 1837 to the news that she had become queen at age 18. In fact, Victoria held her first Privy Council meeting in Kensington Palace’s Red Saloon that same day before promptly moving her household to Buckingham Palace. Kensington Palace thus went from being her childhood home to the backdrop of a historic royal transition. Victoria later granted apartments in the palace to relatives and retired courtiers; notably the Duke and Duchess of Teck (parents of the future Queen Mary) resided there, and Queen Mary herself was born at Kensington Palace in 1867.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Kensington Palace became known as a grace-and-favor residence for many minor royals – so many that King Edward VIII nicknamed it “the Aunt Heap” for its abundance of royal relatives in residence. Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll made the palace her home and even used a studio there to sculpt the statue of her mother that still stands outside. In the 20th century the palace remained a royal address: during World War I, King George V allowed parts of it to be used as offices for war efforts, and a young Prince Philip (future Duke of Edinburgh) even stayed with his grandmother at Kensington Palace at times in the 1930s.
Modern Royals at Kensington Palace
In more recent memory, Kensington became synonymous with Diana, Princess of Wales, who made Apartment 8–9 of Kensington Palace her London base during and after her marriage to Prince Charles. Diana moved into the palace in 1981, and even after her separation she continued living there as a beloved figure devoted to charity work and her sons. Her residence turned into a site of public pilgrimage in 1997 when, after her tragic death, grieving crowds left an ocean of flowers at the palace gates – an estimated millions of bouquets piled up outside Diana’s Kensington home, in what Guinness World Records deemed the largest ever floral tribute. Today a statue of Diana stands in the palace gardens, and her association with Kensington endures as part of its lore.
Kensington Palace remains a working royal residence even now. Prince William and Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, made Apartment 1A (a 20-room wing once occupied by Princess Margaret) their home for several years while raising their young family. Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, also resided within the palace complex at Nottingham Cottage during the early years of their marriage. Alongside them, a number of Queen Elizabeth II’s relatives – such as the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent – have long-term apartments in Kensington Palace. Strolling through Kensington Gardens today, one is in the midst of an active royal community that traces its heritage back over 300 years. The palace’s private apartments are tucked behind its public State Rooms, so ordinary visitors may not glimpse the royals coming and going – but the legacy of Kensington as home to kings, queens, princes and princesses is palpable. The very street outside, Kensington Palace Gardens, has even been nicknamed “Billionaire’s Row” or historically “Millionaire’s Row” since Victorian times, reflecting how desirable it’s been to have the palace as your neighbor.
Politicians and Statesmen
Beyond royalty, Kensington has also attracted some of Britain’s most influential political figures. The elegant squares and quiet lanes have been home to leaders who shaped the nation – and, in some cases, the world. One prominent resident was Sir Winston Churchill, the UK’s famous World War II Prime Minister. After leading Britain to victory in 1945, Churchill and his wife Clementine made their London base at 28 Hyde Park Gate, Kensington, a townhouse just south of Kensington Gardens. Churchill lived at Hyde Park Gate from 1945 until the end of his life, and it was in this Kensington home that he died on 24 January 1965. A blue plaque now marks the red-brick house with the simple inscription that Sir Winston Churchill “lived and died here” – a quiet memorial to a giant of history tucked away on a cul-de-sac behind the Royal Albert Hall. During his years in Kensington, the elder statesman wrote his memoirs and continued to influence public life. One can imagine the venerable Churchill sitting in his study at Hyde Park Gate, cigar in hand, reflecting on war and peace just steps from the leafy expanse of Kensington Gardens.
Long before Churchill, another statesman left his mark on Kensington: William Wilberforce, the renowned 18th-century abolitionist. Wilberforce moved into Gore House on Kensington Gore (the southern edge of Kensington Gardens) in 1808 and lived there for over a decade. It was during his time at Kensington Gore that Wilberforce continued his campaign against the slave trade in Parliament. The elegant Gore House, which stood near today’s Royal Albert Hall, became a gathering place for Wilberforce’s fellow reformers. His residency in Kensington placed him literally next door to the palace – an interesting juxtaposition of a social reformer working to change the British Empire’s policies while living beside the seat of royal power.
In more recent times, prime ministers and politicians have also favored Kensington and its environs. Before his premiership, David Cameron was famously part of the “Notting Hill Set” – he and his wife Samantha owned a home in the Notting Hill area of the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, underscoring the neighborhood’s continued status as a trendy yet posh address for up-and-coming leaders. Likewise, Margaret Thatcher spent her final years living just outside Kensington (in a home near Sloan Square), showing that even after Downing Street, the elite tend to cluster in West London. And it’s not only British politicians: the quiet mansion-lined streets have attracted foreign dignitaries too. For example, Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, lived in exile in the 1990s in the borough – a reminder that Kensington’s appeal is global.
Writers and Literary Figures
Kensington’s leafy streets and Georgian terraces have fired the imaginations of some of the world’s greatest writers. In the 19th century especially, the neighborhood became a haven for literary figures who lived and worked here – often drawing inspiration from the locale. One early literary resident was William Makepeace Thackeray, famed Victorian novelist. Thackeray moved to Kensington in 1846, taking a house at 16 Young Street, Kensington (then numbered 13) to settle his young family. It was in this modest Kensington home that Thackeray wrote his most celebrated novel, Vanity Fair (1847-48). A blue plaque today commemorates Thackeray’s residence there, noting that he “lived here 1846-1854”.
Another beloved storyteller, J.M. Barrie, found his muse in Kensington’s gardens. Barrie – the creator of Peter Pan – lived in South Kensington in the late 19th century. After marrying in 1894, he and his wife Mary Ansell moved into a tall Victorian house at 133 Gloucester Road, South Kensington. Barrie often strolled through nearby Kensington Gardens, befriending local children, and these experiences directly fed into Peter Pan. In 1900, he moved to 100 Bayswater Road, a house directly overlooking Kensington Gardens, where he wrote Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up (first performed 1904) and Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (1906). A blue plaque now marks the spot.
Kensington has also been home to masters of mystery and crime fiction. Agatha Christie, the world's best-selling mystery author, lived in Kensington for a time and did some of her finest writing here. In the early 1930s, Christie resided at 58 Sheffield Terrace, Kensington, where she wrote several Poirot and Marple classics – including Murder on the Orient Express (1934) and Death on the Nile (1937).
Musicians and Entertainers
Kensington's cachet has long attracted famous figures from the world of music and entertainment. One of the most legendary Kensington residents was Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen. In 1980, at the height of his fame, Mercury bought Garden Lodge, a beautiful brick villa tucked away on Logan Place, West Kensington. Behind high walls and a green door, Garden Lodge became Freddie's sanctuary – a place where he could retreat from the spotlight into a world of art, music, and cherished friends. After his untimely death at the house in 1991, it became an impromptu shrine for fans.
Kensington and its neighboring districts have been home to many music legends: Eric Clapton, Madonna, Sting, Robbie Williams, and Elton John have all owned properties in the area. The Holland Park neighborhood of Kensington is sometimes nicknamed "Millionaire's Row" for its concentration of celebrity homeowners.
Actors and Filmmakers
From early Hollywood legends to modern movie stars, Kensington has drawn a glittering array of acting and filmmaking talent. One pioneering filmmaker was Sir Alfred Hitchcock, who lived at 153 Cromwell Road, South Kensington from 1926–1939. Actors like Rowan Atkinson, Judy Dench, and Keira Knightley have also called Kensington home.
Modern Celebrities and Influential Personalities
Kensington today remains the neighborhood for the rich and famous. Kensington Palace Gardens, often called Britain's most expensive street, is home to billionaires like Lakshmi Mittal and Roman Abramovich. Other notable residents include JK Rowling, Stella McCartney, and Simon Cowell.
Conclusion
Kensington's roll call of residents over the centuries reads like a who's who of British (and international) high society and culture. From Queen Victoria to Princess Diana, from Thackeray to Agatha Christie, from Churchill to Richard Branson, this corner of London has nurtured leaders in every arena. The next time you wander through Kensington, remember you're walking in the footsteps of royalty and revolutionaries, storytellers and superstars.
Sources: Historical records, blue plaque citations, biographies, archives on Kensington Palace, English Heritage listings, and contemporary news features on celebrity homes in Kensington.