It was a beautiful sunny morning when we walked through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park on our way to Buckingham Palace. The two parks are adjoined, and have huge open grassy spaces with an expansive network of tree lined pathways full of joggers and dog walkers. We spotted several squirrels amongst the trees, and also saw people riding horses. 

We saw Kensington Palace, which has been a royal residence since the 1700s. It is currently the official London residence and offices of a number of royals, including the Prince and Princess of Wales. Queen Victoria was born there in 1819, and a large statue of her sits prominently at the front of the beautifully manicured gardens.

Next to the palace is a memorial for Princess Diana tucked behind large hedges. It was closed at the time so unfortunately we were unable to see it.

Across from the palace was a large lake called 'The Pond' with paddle boats on it. 

We also saw the memorial bench for Alan Rickman, most fondly remembered in our household as Professor Snape from Harry Potter. There is an engraving on the seat that says: 

'It would be wonderful to think that the future is unknown and sort of surprising ~ Alan Rickman'