Kensington Palace will be transformed into The Enchanted Palace in a magical two-year exhibition.

Kensington Palace, a royal residence in London, England, has been transformed into “The Enchanted Palace” for two years in a magical multisensory exhibition.

The exhibition opens today (26 March 2010) and goes on until June 2012, and will take visitors through a unique multisensory experience combining fashion, performance, and dazzling spectacle to reveal Kensington’s State Apartments in a whole new light.

Leading fashion designers Vivienne Westwood, William Tempest, Stephen Jones, Boudicca, Aminaka Wilmont and illustrator/set designer Echo Morgan will each create spectacular installations in collaboration with acclaimed UK theatre company WILDWORKS, taking inspiration from Kensington Palace and the princesses who once lived there - Mary, Anne, Caroline, Charlotte, Victoria, Margaret and Diana.

These contemporary designs will be displayed alongside historic items from the Royal Collection and Kensington Palace’s Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, together with two dresses worn by Diana, Princess of Wales and Princess Margaret.

The complex and mysterious world of the royal court will be opened up through spectacular installations, interactive theatre, intimate storytelling, soundscapes, haunting film projections, and a series of intriguing clues hidden throughout the historic rooms, revealing tales of love and hate, surprise and sadness, secrets and jealousy.

Alexandra Kim, Historic Royal Palaces Curator, said: “Featuring specially commissioned contemporary fashion installations woven into fascinating tales from the palace’s history; The Enchanted Palace will enable visitors to explore the extraordinary lives of Kensington’s former royal residents.”

WILDWORKS Producer Bill Mitchell, said: “We have found the stories of the palace incredibly inspiring, they’re like true fairy tales – the rebellious princess who was so universally loved that, when she died in childbirth, London ran out of black mourning fabric; the little sickly prince who played peashooters with his uncle, the king; the court that kept a wild feral boy as a pet; the young princess who wept for three days when told she had to marry a man twice her age; the two friends who had a quarrel that caused deaths, changed the fortunes of great families and the map of Europe. It’s such rich material for art and theatre - to be exploring these stories in the rooms where they took place is thrilling.”

The exhibition is taking place as Kensington Palace undergoes a £12 million transformation – by Independent charity Historic Royal Palaces, which also looks after Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London, the Banqueting House and Kew Palace – on behalf of the Queen.

‘Welcome to Kensington – a palace for everyone’ is a project to transform Kensington Palace by improving accessibility, introducing new education and community facilities, reconnecting the palace with the surrounding park through new public gardens, and enabling exciting exhibitions inspired by the palaces rich past and unique collections.

Major works will begin in June 2010 and are scheduled for completion in June 2012 in time for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics.