Day 3: At Kensington Palace

I don't love the royals. I suppose there are people who hate me for it, but I just really don't.

I mean their great as people (don't get me started on Kate Middleton's fashion sense). It's the institution of the monarchy I don't agree with. That they get to live a life of luxury, of fame, of riches and adoration- all because they were the son of their mother, or the granddaughter of their grandmother, or the great-niece of their great-aunt.

I try not to think about the monarchy most of the time. I try to think about democracy, and politics and prime minsters. It isn't hard, especially with the by-election results come in not so long ago.

Right now, I guess I'm trying not to think about the Tory failures. To be fair, if I was old enough to vote, I probably wouldn't be voting Conservative, either. I mean, an election failure is the best way to tell them we've had enough of liars like Johnson, gamblers like Truss, and- it pains me to say this- boring, uninspiring, not particularly eloquent men like Sunak. Grant Shapps, now, has an awful lot of potential...

But I'm not going down the politics rabbit-hole. I don't want to offend any Labour supporters; there are too many articles practically designed to offend Conservatives, and two wrongs don't make a right. And I don't want to bore anyone who might not be living in England and probably doesn't know anymore what I'm talking about than I do when I'm listening to CNN. Now, I come to think of it, I don't even know who the Australian and Canadian prime ministers are...

I need to expand my horizons. Urgently. But how can I when British politics is so all-absorbing?

But I don't need to be absorbed in the figurehead of our constitution. And I try not to be absorbed in the figurehead, well- a little more than that, of the Victorian era. I mean, I can focus on my love of Robert Peel, and how much better the Whigs are than Labour? I mean, the Whigs then are basically Conservatives now. Competent, efficient, ambitious Conservatives. Conservatives at their best.

But I can't escape it. Queen Victoria gave her name to the Victorian era.

She's not all bad. In her younger years, some of her portraits are quite nice. She looks majestic. She wears nice gowns. She was a woman in an era dominated by men (though I have to say, she didn't do very much for her sex).

But she will, always, for me, be associated with the stiffer, nationalist notions of the Victorian era. The Empire. It's one of the most unpleasant parts of Victorian history, and she was the Empress.

Its the scientists of the Victorian era I will always love. Even some of the politicians that I will always love. And of course, I will always love the writers. They are the good people.

But Queen Victoria? Not so much.

It would seem that I put this all aside when I went to visit Kensington Palace, her childhood home, today. This isn't a travel blog, so I'm not going to bore you with details, but let's just say it was pretty. I may not really like the monarchy, but I love palaces. After all, they're all rooted in History, and History- in case you haven't noticed- is my thing.

The best part? In addition to all this sight-seeing, I fully redeemed myself from yesterday's dismal word-count and made a decent 1289 words. I guess my surroundings must have inspired me.