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Kensington Palace

Royal sorrows chronicled: London's Kensington Palace gets moody makeover to draw visitors

Princess Diana's former home, Kensington Palace , will be rebranded "The Enchanted Palace" Friday to lure tourists from other popular London sights, like Madame Tussauds waxworks and the Tower of London, where the Crown Jewels are displayed (behind very thick glass).In this interactive age, it's not enough for a stately palace to offer royal art, staid banquet rooms, and roped-off thrones, so curators have opted for fashion, performance art, and a bit of Alice in Wonderland fantasy. The exhibit, meant to draw viewers into the lives of past palace residents, uses intense lighting, actors and musicians to set the mood. One man even coaxes sound from a saw with a violin bow.The tone is set by the Room of Royal Sorrows. No, it's not about Diana and her fractured fairytale marriage to Prince Charles; it's a dramatization of the emotional torment of Queen Mary II as she tried in vain a produce an heir. It is set in her bedchamber, giving the display an unsettling authenticity. On the bed is ...

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