Kew Palace

Annual opening of Kew Palace, a brick mansion with a distinctly Dutch look. In the eighteenth century, it was here that George III was confined during episodes of the mysterious and debilitating illness that is now believed to have been porphyria. On the ground floor there's an audiovisual display about the 15 children George III had with Queen Charlotte (when the King was well the royal family often stayed at Kew Palace in the summer). New this year is an exhibition of caricatures depicting King George and his family, featuring work by James Gillray and others. Outside there's a formal garden facing the Thames and an apothecary garden overflowing with medicinal plants.