Members of the Royal Family continued to occupy various apartments in the palace, the Duchess of Kent residing there till her death in 1861. Queen Mary was born there, her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Teck, living there for a short time. After some years it was found that the palace was in a very bad state of repair, every part of the building wanting attention. So extensive was the dilapidation, that the question of pulling down the palace was seriously considered. Fortunately, however, the historic place was saved by Queen Victoria, who was anxious to preserve her old home. It was finally decided as a memorial of the Diamond Jubilee, to repair the building thoroughly, and to throw open the State Rooms to the public. The restoration was carried out most carefully, everything being saved that was possible; pictures were brought from Hampton Court, and the whole palace rendered much as it was in the days of its glory. At the present time it is serving as the temporary home of the London Museum. CHAPTER XI KEW PALACE Kew first became a royal residence in the reign of George II., when it was leased from its private owners and used as a country seat by Frederick, Prince of Wales. Owing to his undutiful behaviour to his father, the Prince was banished from Court, when he retired to Kew, forming a sort of opposition Court there. But the actual red-brick Jacobean house, now known as Kew Palace, was then only called the Dutch House, after its original founder, Sir Hugh Portman, who was a Dutch merchant in the time of James I. It stood quite close to the more important building of Kew House, and was as constantly occupied by members of the Royal Family as the larger adjacent palace. The Dutch House, or Kew Palace as it is now designated, is thoroughly typical of its period--a simple, three gabled, and dignified looking building, unpalatial indeed, but quite befitting the position of the wealthy knight who built it. The interior has been altered to suit the tastes of the royal inmates, who inserted marble fireplaces, and put in new doors, but a good deal of the original Jacobean panelling still remains. On the brass locks of the doors are to be seen the Prince of Wales's feathers, and the cypher of Frederick, Prince of Wales. [Illustration: Kew Palace (the Dutch House) and George III.'s Castellated Palace, pulled down by George IV.]