Kings Langley Palace

Kings Langley Palace is a ruined medieval royal residence organized around three courtyards, with surviving remnants showing kitchen areas, a bakery, and domestic service quarters distributed across the site. The layout reveals how the household functioned as a working estate during royal occupation.

Queen Eleanor of Castile acquired the estate in 1276 and initiated construction of this royal residence for the Plantagenet dynasty. The palace served successive monarchs until it eventually declined and was abandoned.

The palace served as a venue for royal celebrations, particularly Christmas gatherings under Richard II when formal announcements were made from this location. These occasions reveal how central the residence was to court life.

The ruins are situated within private garden grounds and are protected as a scheduled monument on the National Heritage List. Access requires prior arrangement, as the site occupies private land and visitors must respect archaeological protection requirements.

King Edward III moved his entire court administration to Kings Langley during the 14th-century plague outbreak, temporarily establishing it as a royal seat of government. This exceptional relocation demonstrates how important the site became for maintaining royal continuity during crisis.