Kensington Palace and Gardens

　　I had an appointment with the Prince of Wales and visited Kensington Palace where he and his family live. When I entered the premise of the Palace, a statue came into my sight. It was the statue of William III. I didn't know much about him. I just learned that he came from the Netherlands and fought Louis XIV. He apparently built Kensington Palace and died here.
　　I entered the Palace. The great flamboyance was within the scope of my assumption, but the additional exhibition was amazing to me. The names, photos and documented records of people who had supported the royal family since 19th century were displayed. They were what you call commoners. The Royal Family openly expressed their gratitude to them; lots of supporters, housekeepers, gardeners, cooks, clerks, cleaners, and so on.
　　Arriving at Heathrow in the morning, my wife got tired. I asked my daughter to take her to our hotel, and I took a walk alone in the pleasant breeze and weather. I was likely to forget that I was in a big city of London.
　　By ill chance, I found the statue of Queen Victoria near the exit of the Palace. The U.K. was evil in her reign of the latter half of 19th century. Recalling what the U.K. did in Asian and African countries in her reign, I felt nausea coming on. Japan was one of the victims.
　　While walking around, I found a tiny statue of a child. It was Peter Pan. That was it! I recalled that Peter Pan had fallen out of the baby buggy or pram in Kensington Gardens. He can fly in the sky and is an eternal boy. There were several kids cheerfully running around the statue.
　　Then, we were taken to a Greek restaurant near Hyde Park for dinner. I felt a touching effort of my daughter's boyfriend to welcome us. The dishes were new to me and I really enjoyed them over beers from Cyprus.
　　One more thing, Queen Victoria was born and spent her early childhood in Kensington Palace. That's why her statue stood in front of the Palace.

(Vocabulary)
flamboyance (人の) 華やかさ, 華麗さ; (服装などの) きらびやかさ
by ill chance　 運悪く

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2023/07/merton-college.html

　イギリスのウィリアム皇太子とアポがあったのでケンジントン宮殿を訪問した。（笑）
敷地に入るとある銅像が眼に入った。ウィリアム３世オレンジ公とのこと。オランダから来たことくらいしか知らなかったが、この宮殿を建て、この宮殿で没したらしい。宮殿の中の豪華絢爛さはいうまでもないが、スタッフ達の笑顔の写真、名前、彼らが付けていた各種台帳など、王室を支えてきた人たちの記録が展示されていた。王室が謝意を示している。大切なことだと感じた。
　朝、ヒースロー国際空港に到着し、ずっと歩き回って疲れたというカミさんをホテルに送ってもらい、僕は一人でケンジントン公園内を散策。快晴で、気持ちの良い風が吹き、ロンドンという都会にいることを忘れそうである。ケンジントン宮殿を出てすぐのところでヴィクトリア女王の銅像があった。１９世紀後半、彼女の時代、イギリスのやってきたことを思うと吐き気がして来る。日本も散々やられた。そんな嫌なことも思い出したが、一回りして小さな子供の銅像を見つけた。ピーターパンの銅像だった。そうだった、ピーター・パンはロンドンのケンジントン公園で乳母車から落ちて迷子となったんだった。空を飛ぶことのできる永遠の少年である。周辺では子ども達の笑い声が響いていた。
　さて、夕食は近くのギリシャ料理レストラン。彼氏君の我々を歓迎しようという努力は涙ぐましい。料理は初めて聞く名前ばかり。キプロス産ビールと共に明るい夜が更けていく。
　なお、ケンジントン宮殿にヴィクトリア女王の銅像があった理由だが、彼女はここで生まれ、幼少期を過ごしたらしい。