If there’s one thing we love about the royals, it’s their clothes. From The Queen’s unending range of hats, to the Duchess of Cambridge’s maternity wear, we’re fascinated by what the other half wear. With the news that Princess Diana’s most famous dresses are to be auctioned for thousands of pounds this month, we’re looking at some of the places in London where you can see attire worn by the royal family - from recently worn clothes to much older garments.

Kensington Palace

One of the best places to view generations of female royal fashions is at Kensington Palace, where a wealth of garments are on display. You can, for example, see a magnificent collection of royal wedding dresses, or marvel at the clothes included in the Victoria Revealed exhibition (including the dress pictured above). Adult tickets are £15.

Buckingham Palace

This summer, Buckingham Palace is the perfect place to begin your exploration of royal fashions through the ages. From 27 July to 29 September, the palace’s State Rooms will host a celebratory display to mark 60 years since The Queen’s coronation. This will feature a range of dresses, robes and uniforms worn by those involved on the day, as well as the chance to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the historic occasion. Keep an eye out for the charming outfits of Prince Charles and Princess Anne, which provide a pleasing contrast to the adult costumes on display. Adult tickets are £19.

Hampton Court Palace

It may not be strictly an item of royal attire, but the replica of King Henry VIII’s crown at Hampton Court Palace is undoubtedly worth a look. Made by the crown jeweller, this stunning piece is on display in the Royal Pew and is crafted to the specifications set out in the King’s servants’ inventories. The original was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell after the English Civil War. Adult tickets to Hampton Court Palace are £16.

Museum of London

As you walk through the many galleries of the Museum of London, you’ll notice various displays of clothing that provide extra context to the eras under scrutiny. Some of these garments belonged to the royal family of the time and within the museum’s collection are royal clothes ranging from the  mid-17th century to the mid-20th. The most intricate items in their collection, however, may sadly never be on display.  Entry is free.

The Tower of London

The most compelling exhibit at the Tower of London is undoubtedly the Crown Jewels. An important symbol of the British monarchy, they are regularly worn by The Queen in state ceremonies and include some of the world’s most beautiful diamonds. Alongside these spectacular adornments you can also view royal armour in the White Tower and King George V’s military uniform in the Fusilier Museum. Entry costs £21.45 for adults.

Kew Palace

Visitors to Kew Palace can see George III’s (1738-1820) waistcoat on display. Made from pale blue damask, the waistcoat was designed for the monarch towards the end of his life and was especially crafted with his comfort in mind. You can check out the long sleeves and fine workmanship on this garment from 2 April when the Palace re-opens. Adult tickets are £6.

More royal attractions in London

I was lucky enough to have a sneak preview of the newly refurbished Kensington Palace, ahead of its opening on Monday.

The entrance to the Palace has been transformed. You now enter the building through a new light green loggia, inscribed with the details of Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee, and into a new Entrance Hub decorated with a light sculpture called Luminous Lace.

From here, you can choose to explore the Palace through four different routes, each signposted through different colours and pointers:

• Victoria Revealed - 10 lavishly decorated rooms tell the story of Queen Victoria’s life, in her own words from letters and diaries, from her birth in the Palace, through her childhood, ascension, marriage, periods of mourning and her own Diamond Jubilee
• The King’s Apartments - grand, imposing architecture telling the stories of the courts of William and Mary, George I and George II in the 17th and 18th centuries
• The Queen’s Apartments - more intimate rooms, lifting the curtain on the private lives of Mary II and Anne and the decline of the Stuart dynasty
• Diana: Glimpses of a Modern Princess - a selection of five dresses work by Diana Princess of Wales at different points in her life

The section on Diana is small, but very beautifully put together. It’s fascinating to see her dresses next to photos of her wearing them, and drawings from the sketchbooks of the designers. It’s also nice to see how Diana’s style changed, from the black, strapless evening gown by Emanuel (which has never been on display before) to a shocking pink Catherine Walker dress.

Victoria Revealed is a fantastic new permanent exhibition. Told through Victoria’s letters, diaries and other writings, the rooms and objects on display paint a wonderful picture of this endlessly interesting monarch. You can see her first pair of black silk booties, her wedding dress made of Spitalfields silk and her oldest surviving mourning dress. As well as traditional portraits and objects in display cases, Victoria Revealed has a quirkier, inventive side. Mirrors are engraved with snippets from Victoria’s diaries; text appears woven into carpet, scrawled on desks, and doodled into walls. With inventive lighting, soundscapes and some gorgeous modern installations, the result is personal, creative, feeling-based storytelling, rather than a fact-heavy, traditional museum. I loved it.

I spent less time in the Kings and Queens Apartments, but am determined to go back. Fully restored, these two sections of the Palace have been taken over by theatre-makers Coney, with a series of exciting and playful installations. In the Queen’s Apartments, I saw cabinets of love letters, ships in bottles, and magnificent trees, all telling the stories of the different monarchs who’ve lived in these rooms. In the King’s Apartments, you can see rare court dress from the 18th century, and learn about the mix of celebrity, fashion, politics and treachery that defined life in the King’s court during this era.

As well as the new entrance, there’s a lovely new shop and café, and beautiful new landscaped public gardens to explore. All these wonderful developments have really improved the Palace putting it firmly back on my list of must-see attractions in London.

Kensington Palace reopens to the public on Monday 26 March. Check out more photos from the Palace here

It’s official! Kate Middleton and Prince William are going to be married on 29 April in Westminster Abbey.

And Prime Minister David Cameron has confirmed that the occasion will be marked with a public holiday. 

Westminster Abbey is the same place that hosted the Queen and the Queen Mother’s weddings; it was also the venue for Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997.

The prince’s private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkington said the couple wanted a spring wedding and felt that the abbey offered relative intimacy despite its size.

The extra day’s holiday falls in the same week as Easter Monday, giving millions of workers a three-day week.

David Cameron said, “We want to mark the day as one of national celebration, a public holiday will ensure the most people possible have a chance to celebrate on the day.”

What do you think of the date? Are you going to come and watch from the streets of Westminster? Let us know in the comments below…