As both a Royal residence and a museum, Kensington Palace is a unique venue.
It is an iconic British institution made famous by its regal residents both past and present.
A fascinating and stunning architectural connection to over 300 years of British history and monarchy. Its appeal to events organisers is obvious. Beautiful indoor and outdoor spaces, superb location, intrigue and status. A tantalising lure.
It is also beset with complications for event organisers:
High fees, security restrictions, conservational constraints and the often competing needs of stakeholders create a complex and challenging environment.
To ensure the successful management and delivery of over 100 events each year required all my skills of negotiation, patience and diplomacy to ensure I met all the needs of my clients without damaging our ability to deliver future events.
Our client base was high profile, wealthy corporations and individuals with high expectations and wide influence. It was therefore essential that we get it right. Collaborating with colleagues and trusted suppliers to ensure every event was outstanding was crucial.
You are only as good as your last event and customer satisfaction is everything. One bad event can be catastrophic to your reputation.
My main focus was to maximise the commercial hire revenue of the palace through strategic sales and marketing activity, developing and cementing the reputation of Kensington Palace as one of London’s most prestigious events venues.
In my first three years, I grew the business from an annual revenue of £300,000 to just under £1,000,000.
Further challenges were to come, namely the Global Financial Crisis and a significant building redevelopment project which turned our venues into a building site.
These were overcome by swiftly responding to changes in the marketplace and maintaining good customer relations. A positive outlook, accurate communication, management of expectations and attention to detail were all crucial skills I employed to ensure business continuity and team morale.
“Charlotte is a hard-working, dedicated events professional. At Kensington Palace, she helped deliver some truly outstanding events and brought in valuable income to support Historic Royal Palace’s cause. We were very sad that she left us as she was a great member of the team and fiercly loyal to HRP. She will be a great asset to any organisation willing to hire her.”
Paul Gray
Chief Operating Officer, The National Gallery
(Formerly Palaces Group Director, Historic Royal Palaces)
“An event at Kensington Palace always presented logistical challenges but Charlotte’s very professional, can-do attitude meant that clients quickly warmed to her and trusted her judgement. She had the ability to remain calm in the most difficult circumstances. Nothing was ever too much trouble and she always went the extra mile to make every event a complete success. I would have no doubt in working with her again or recommending her to anyone else who wishes to make use of her services.”
Lorraine Rossdale
Head of Events and Marketing, Westminster Abbey
(Formerly Deputy Director, Kensington Palace)
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