KENTSTAYCATION
A ROYAL CONNECTION
AS HOME TO MORE CASTLES THAN ANY OTHER COUNTY , KENT BOASTS A HISTORY OVERFLOWING WITH ROYAL CONNECTIONS , STORIES AND CHARACTERS . FROM MEDIEVAL KINGS ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO QUEEN ELIZABETH II , KENT HAS REVELLED IN ITS UNIQUE AND UNFALTERING RELATIONSHIP WITH ROYALTY .
PENSHURST PLACE
As 2022 celebrates the platinum jubilee commemorating Her Majesty ’ s 70 years of dedication and service to the country , insideKENT delves deep into the county ’ s links to monarchs past and present . As ever , Kent ’ s Garden of England status has undoubtedly secured a special place in many a royal ’ s heart over the centuries , and the county has welcomed hundreds of royal visits and grand openings . Originally it was Kent ’ s close proximity to Europe that made it a prime location for gallivanting kings and queens , as well as their need to build plenty of castles and fortresses upon its soil . Today , these grand country homes and turreted castles are an ever-imposing ode to monarchs of old and stand proudly today to welcome visitors from across the globe to marvel at their history and beauty .
Perhaps Kent ’ s most obvious ‘ royal ’ link is Royal Tunbridge Wells , which was first granted its prefix in 1909 by King Edward VII to commemorate the fact that his mother Queen Victoria , now our second longest reigning monarch , had loved the town so much . However , the town ’ s longstanding history with the royal family goes back further than this , most famously when Queen Anne was unimpressed after her nine-year-old son , the Duke of Gloucester , tripped over the then unpaved ‘ walks ’. The fragile boy , who had the tendency to lose balance due to a brain abnormality , was particularly precious to his parents and this is why the family entrusted a cottager £ 100 to pave and level the walkway . In 1700 , the ground was adorned with ‘ pantiles ’ and , to appease Anne , a cluster of birch trees were planted in her honour , these can still be seen today and provide the pretty leafy shade the area is loved for .
Royal Tunbridge Wells is surrounded by many of Kent ’ s famous castles . One of those however is not titled as such , but still comes in just as formidable a form is Penshurst Place . In 1519 , Henry VIII , who is also said to have first coined the phrase ‘ Garden of England ’, visited Penshurst Place as the guest of then-owner Edward Stafford , the third Duke of Buckingham . In dire need to impress the demanding king , the duke spent an extortionate £ 2,500 on banquets and entertainment during Henry ’ s visit , which equates to over one million pounds in today ’ s money . Despite this excess , things didn ’ t fare well for Buckingham , and when Henry had him executed for treason in 1521 , Penshurst Place became the king ’ s hunting lodge . Henry ’ s daughter , Elizabeth I , became the next monarch to frequent Penshurst Place and clearly had a great admiration for it , regularly holding audiences there during her reign . From Penshurst , Elizabeth could also get to know the place that her mother grew up in at nearby Hever .
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