There’s so much packed into central London that you’d never be able to visit all of Kate’s favourite shopping haunts in one day, but if you’re ever visiting Fortnum & Mason (and as we all know, it’s well worth a visit!), there’s a great Kate-related spot just across the road!
The Burlington Arcade is a covered shopping area that Kate and Pippa have been spotted in a couple of times, most notably for the Burlington Bazaar, a charity event hosted by Lady Tollemache to raise money for the Ormiston Children. This event had a ticket price of £20, but usually the arcade is free to access and contains a variety of interesting, upmarket shops.
One of my favourites is Ladurée, a French patisserie famous for its macaroons, which is positioned right in the entrance to the arcade. The arcade runs behind Bond Street from Piccadilly, and winds up in Burlington Gardens, and was originally constructed to house ‘jewellery and fancy articles of fashionable demand, for the gratification of the public’. It originally opened in 1819 – and the grand design of the Georgian era (not to mention the luxurious ambitions of its offerings) is still apparent even in 2016! (Note, however, that the beautiful façade was added in the early 20th century!)
The arcade actually acted as a prototype for other similar designs, including the Saint-Hubert Gallery in Brussels and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, amongst others!
Inside the arcade, you can find accessories, jewellery and perfumeries including Chanel, N.Peal (Carole Middleton and Sophie Carter were recently photographed wearing an adorable fur pom-pom-edged shawl from the company that I’ve been obsessed with!), House of Cashmere, Lulu Guinness, Cashmirino, La Perla, Tessier, Manolo Blahnik, Church’s, and Penhaligon’s to name a few!
It’s a fairly small and compact shopping space (with around 40 units) and should take just minutes to breeze through if you’re not stopping, but it’s definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area and want to soak in some of the Kate-related sights in central London!
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