The King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace serves one purpose: to bring the Royal Collection out of storage and into public view. Most of what you see here normally lives in private rooms, archive vaults, or other royal residences. These exhibitions are often the only chance to see the material up close, and the gallery builds each show around a specific period or them. Rotating the displays every few months, each installation pulls portraits, garments, furniture, and documents from the larger collection.

Kensington Palace came with high expectations in my book. I’m not obsessed with the royals, but like everyone else, I can’t look away from a Harry scandal or Kate Middleton’s perfect wardrobe (and hair). My mother adored Princess Diana, and as a kid in the ’90s, I remember her death clearly. All of that history sits in the background, so visiting Kensington Palace—the home tied to every one of these figures—felt exciting.