Ask any group of little girls what they would deem welcome additions to their dream holiday destinations, and odds are very good that more than half of them will suggest that a princess or two would go a long way toward perfection in a vacation.
Although the odds on tourists meeting up with royalty while visiting London, UK for a few days are slim, just knowing that they’re are there … real, live princesses, princes, Lords and Ladies, and even a Queen! … can cast a spell of magic over the city for any little girl.
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Dressing up: The Victoria and Albert Museum
Where better to begin a London visit with a little girl than the Victoria and Albert Museum, the V&A to locals, on Cromwell Road in South Kensington where princess kit from Christening Gowns to Wedding Dresses can be seen and studied for future dream material?
The V&A’s permanent collection highlights fashion from the 1600s through today, and offers up the ever-vital accessories – jewels, gloves, belts and bags — that are de rigueur. Special exhibits offer even more, like one opening in May of 2008 on wedding dresses that will include the one worn by Princess Diana when she walked down the aisle of St. Paul’s.
If toys and such are more of a draw than royal clothing, the V&A also has their Museum of Childhood that includes the fabulous doll collection with more than 8,000 representatives of a little girl’s best friend from over the ages.
From the dolls, you can move to doll houses, as the V&A has the largest public collection in Britain. The Nuremberg House, build in 1673, is considered one of the Victoria & Albert’s most valuable treasures and is a sight to behold.
Many of the doll houses once belonged to real princesses, so today’s girls can let their imaginations wander down the same tiny hallways royal children’s did more than 100 years ago.
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If wishes were horses: The Royal Mews
Believe it or not … and if you were or have a little girl you know this already … there is no shortage of little girls that would gladly give up all dreams of “Princess-hood” if they thought they could get a horse out of the deal.
Yes, girls and horses go together like horse-and-carriage, and you can spend a good part of a wonderful day taking a look at both at the Royal Mews.
Just around the corner from Buckingham Palace’s front door, the Mews house the Queen’s horses and the carriages they pull. It is a working stable and an official department of the Royal Household, so a dynamic place in action, as well as an education in equines and royal protocol.
Not only fragrantly horsy, the grand is also on display with the Gold State Coach used during the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and other horse-draw conveyances and motor cars used in affairs of state, coronations and royal weddings.
The horses themselves are all beautiful specimens of animal flesh, the best of the best of the British breeds of horses. The Cleveland Bays and Windsor greys are not always on view, as they do travel and are sometimes rested outside of London, so asking and booking in advance are both good idea.
Bookings and inquiries can be made by phoning: (+44) (0)20 7766 7302
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Let’s fly!: Kensington Gardens and Peter Pan
Children can take only so much standing around and absorbing, even when what they are absorbing is as wonderful as princess dresses and horses, so when it’s time to get the wiggles out with some outdoor wiggle removal you might be happy to take your little girl in hand and head for Kensington Gardens where she can not only run around, but perhaps even fly!
Not only are the gardens in the same neighborhood as Kensington Palace, a princess residence when Diana was Princess of Wales and home to others holding the titles for hundreds of years, it is also near the place Peter Pan first eavesdropped on Wendy Darling as she told his story to her brothers.
Pixie dust may still blow through Kensington Gardens near the statue of Peter Pan, and little girls will forever feel the urge to take that perpetual boy to heart, then fly off for a while to Neverland.
You can download the eBook “Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens” by JM Barrie at
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Glitz, glamor and more princess stuff: Madam Tussauds
Recharged and ready for more, your little girl might be hankering for something a little more hip, a bit more trendy, more “today”, than all this history … princess history or not … she’s been steeping in.
If that’s the case, it’s time to head for Madam Tussauds. There will be princesses there, too … or replicas of princesses … but you are also likely to encounter Spice Girls, supermodels and movie stars.
If there’s a bit of the ghoul in your girl, and she’s over the age of twelve years, The Chamber Live might be enough to turn a few princess dreams to monster nightmares, and there’s no shortage of the grim and grimy if you are looking forward to experiencing some gooseflesh and feel a trip to London just can’t be complete without at least one case of the willies.
You can book ahead on line at the following link:
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Kitting out your Princess: Harrods (Where else?)
By now, you and your little girl have experienced princesses from their baby clothes to their wedding dresses to their horses and neighborhoods, you have seen them in wax and the wax on the vehicles that carted them around.
What can be left?
Only catering to your very own princess and making sure she leaves London prepared for princessing in her own right.
Where better to do this than Harrods? After all, when the going gets tired and whiny, the tired and whiny go shopping!
No few princesses head to Knightsbridge to do their shopping when they are tired and whiny, and they have been doing so since the store opened in 1849 with the thought of treating every customer like royalty, and all royalty as customers, with only the best of the very best.
Harrods is, of course, much more than shopping, and from the Egyptian Hall (ground floor) to the the Pet Shop (second floor) to designer clothing in tiny sizes for fashionable little girls (on four), there’s enough under this one huge roof to keep a girl occupied for days on end.
Breaks and sustenance can be had in the myriad restaurants available, or by grazing the Food Halls … the chocolates and pastries are fit for an after-dinner castle of princess proportions … and there are lovely places for sitting and resting, and after a few days of London with little girls, Mom and Dad will need the time to figure out how much is left in the Princess Fund.
Picture of Pink Diamond sculpture, Victoria and Albert Museum, originally posted by clagnut
Topic: Travel with kids |
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Tags: family, London
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About the author
Although always a traveler, Sandra Hanks Benoiton now spends most of her time writing the world from the veranda of her home on the Indian Ocean island of Mahé in the Seychelles. Well known and respected for her advocacy on behalf of the world's children, she also authors works of fiction. A collection of her short stories, "Papaya ... and other seeds", is to be released this year and will include "Beggars Would Ride", the tale from which the short film "Wish" was adapted.”
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