7 Nov 2011
Restoration project discovers rude graffiti at Kensington Palace
However, a £12 million restoration project of the royal residence has discovered the culprit’s handiwork in pristine order, providing a glimpse of the banter between palace staff at the turn of the 20th century.
Either a proud boast by the author or an insult about a colleague, the piece of graffiti adorns a post supporting the ceiling beside the palace’s front door.
Perhaps spurred on by the fact that the pillar is boxed in by wooden panelling, the message is neatly dated 1/2/1902 and reads: "Peter Jackson, The Champion ------".
"When this was written he must have thought he was perfectly safe, that nobody in the world would ever lay eyes on it again," said Lee Prosser, Buildings Curator at Historic Royal Palaces.
“Sadly, we don’t know very much about Peter Jackson, but evidently he, like many others throughout history, could not resist the temptation to leave his mark on a royal palace.”