Королевский боро Кенсингтон и Челси: История и становление

The borough was formed by the merger of the Royal Borough of Kensington and the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea, under the London Government Act 1963, which reorganised 86 boroughs and urban districts into 32 London boroughs on 1 April 1965 together with the creation of the Greater London Council. The new borough was originally intended to be called only "Kensington", but after protests from thousands of Chelsea residents, the then Minister of Housing and Local Government, Sir Keith Joseph, announced on 2 January 1964 that the name of the new borough would be the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Of its history the council states: "Despite the boroughs being separate originally, Kensington and Chelsea still retain their unique characters. Even the amalgamation of the two boroughs, unpopular as it was at the time, has been accepted. Today conservation combined with the adoption of sympathetic new architecture is seen as a key objective. In every corner of the borough signs of its history can be seen: from Grade 1 listed buildings Kensington Palace and the Royal Hospital, Chelsea to others recalled in street names such as Pottery Lane and Hippodrome Mews." In 200 years the area has been transformed from a "rural idyll" to a thriving part of the modern metropolis. Chelsea had originally been countryside upon which Thomas More built Beaufort House. He came to Chelsea in 1520 and built the house, which in his day had two courtyards laid out between the house and the river, and in the north of the site acres of gardens and orchards were planted. It was from here in 1535 that More was taken to the Tower and beheaded later that year. This area of Cheyne Walk continued its historic significance; nearby Crosby Hall sits on the river near the Church of Thomas More, and what was once Thomas Carlyle's residence remains on Cheyne Row. Kensington's royal borough status was granted in 1901 as it was the home of Kensington Palace, where Queen Victoria was born in 1819 and lived until her accession in 1837. Commissioned by King William III, Christopher Wren enlarged and rebuilt the original house in 1689, turning it into a fitting royal residence. With the King came many court officials, servants and followers. Kensington Square, until then a failing venture, became a popular residential area. The Palace was regularly used by reigning monarchs until 1760 and since then by members of the Royal family. Kensington's royal borough status was inherited by the new borough. In the 19th century the last emperor of the Sikh Empire, Maharaja Duleep Singh who was brought to England as a child following the Second Anglo Sikh War, along with the Koh i noor diamond, lived in the borough at 53 Holland Park, while his mother Maharani Jind Kaur (wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh) lived at the nearby Abingdon House till her death in 1846. During the Second World War civilians suffered great hardship; there were some 800 deaths and 40,000 injuries. A huge army of civilian volunteers was raised, including Auxiliary Fire Service, Red Cross, Air Raid Wardens and Rescue Services. During the Blitz much damage was caused by explosive and incendiary bombs, especially along Chelsea's riverside. But worse was to come in 1944 with the arrival of the V2 rockets, or flying bombs. Among the buildings either destroyed or seriously damaged, usually with terrible loss of life, were Chelsea Old Church, Church of Our Most Holy Redeemer, Our Lady of Victories, St Mary Abbots, St Stephens Hospital, St Mary Abbots Hospital, Sloane Square tube station, World's End, the Royal Hospital and Holland House.

At the 2011 census, the borough had a population of 158,649 who were 71 percent White, 10 percent Asian, 5 percent of multiple ethnic groups, 4 percent Black African and 3 percent Black Caribbean. It is the least populated of the 32 London boroughs. Due to its high French population it has long held the unofficial title of the 21st arrondissement of Paris. In 2005, the borough had more of its land covered by domestic buildings than anywhere else in England at 19%, over half the national average. It also had the fifth highest proportion of land covered by non domestic buildings at 12 percent. The figures in 1991–1993 were significantly lower: 73.0 years for males (ranking 301st in the nation) and 80.0 for females (ranking 129th). Further investigation indicates a 12 year gap in life expectancy between the affluent wards of Chelsea (Royal Hospital, Hans Town) and the most northerly wards of North Kensington (Golborne, Dalgarno), which have high levels of social housing and poverty. The borough has a higher proportion (16.6 percent) of high earners (over £60,000 per year) than any other local government district in the country. It has the highest proportion of workers in the financial sector and the lowest proportion working in the retail sector. In December 2006 Sport England published a survey which showed that the borough's residents were the fourth most active in England in sports and other fitness activities. 27.9 percent of the population participate at least three times a week for 30 minutes. A 2017 study by Trust for London and the New Policy Institute found that Kensington & Chelsea has the greatest income inequality of any London Borough. Private rent for low earners was also found to be the least affordable in London. However, the borough's poverty rate of 28% is roughly in line with the London wide average.

Ethnic Group1981 estimations1991200120112021Number%Number%Number%Number%Number%White: Total105,97590.5%116,79184.4%124,92478.61%112,01770.61%91,39463.8% White: British–––– 79,594 50.08% 62,271 39.25%46,88332.7% White: Irish–––– 5,183 3.26% 3,715 2.34%2,8252.0% White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller–––– – – 119 0.08%840.1%White: Roma––––––––1,0490.7% White: Other–––– 40,147 25.26% 45,912 28.94%40,55328.3% Asian or Asian British: Total ––8,4916.1% 10,329 6.50% 15,861 10.00%17,02511.8% Asian or Asian British: Indian––1,658 3,226 2.03% 2,577 1.62%3,2092.2% Asian or Asian British: Pakistani––830 1,203 0.76% 911 0.57%1,2820.9% Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi––669 1,148 0.72% 836 0.53%1,4881.0% Asian or Asian British: Chinese––1,528 2,592 1.63% 3,968 2.50%3,8392.7% Asian or Asian British: Other Asian ––3,806 2,160 1.36% 7,569 4.77%7,2075.0% Black or Black British: Total ––8,0825.8% 11,081 6.97% 10,333 6.51%11,2797.9% Black or Black British: African––3,070 6,013 3.78% 5,536 3.49%6,9444.8% Black or Black British: Caribbean––3,461 4,101 2.58% 3,257 2.05%3,2372.3% Black or Black British: Other Black––1,551 967 0.61% 1,540 0.97%1,0980.8% Mixed or British Mixed: Total –––– 6,505 4.09% 8,986 5.66%9,5256.6% Mixed: White and Black Caribbean –––– 1,290 0.81% 1,695 1.07%1,7251.2% Mixed: White and Black African –––– 1,057 0.67% 1,148 0.72%1,2880.9% Mixed: White and Asian –––– 1,863 1.17% 3,021 1.90%3,0472.1% Mixed: Other Mixed –––– 2,295 1.44% 3,122 1.97%3,4652.4% Other: Total ––5,0303.6% 6,080 3.83% 11,452 7.22%14,1509.9% Other: Arab –––– – – 6,455 4.07%6,3844.5% Other: Any other ethnic group ––5,0303.6% 4,997 3.15%7,7665.4% Ethnic minority: Total 11,1619.5%21,60315.5% 33,995 21.39% 46,632 29.39%51,97936.2% Total 117,136100%138,394100% 158,919 100.00% 158,649 100.00%143,373100%

As of the 2022 elections the council has 35 Conservative, 13 Labour and 2 Liberal Democrat councillors. The first past the post electoral system is used. The Labour or Liberal councillors have tended to represent the economically diverse areas of the borough; some marginal wards are concentrated towards the north, where north Kensington meets Kilburn, Kensal Rise/Green and Ladbroke Grove. Wealthy white areas, including all the wards in Holland Park, (parts of) Notting Hill, Kensington, South Kensington, and Chelsea, have been safe Conservative seats since the council's creation in 1965. The Liberal Democrats have had a presence in Earl's Court for over a decade. The borough has combined a number of services and departments with its neighbours, Hammersmith & Fulham and Westminster City Council. Three of the more notable council leaders were Nicholas Freeman, from 1977 until 1989, Sir Merrick Cockell who held the position from 2000 to 2013., and Elizabeth Campbell (C), from 2017 in the wake of the Grenfell Tower Tragedy to the present day.

For elections to the Greater London Council, the borough formed the Kensington and Chelsea electoral division, electing three members. In 1973 it was divided into the single member Kensington and Chelsea. electoral divisions. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986. Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly, the borough forms part of the West Central constituency.

Chelsea (SW3, SW10 and partly SW1) has significantly less Underground access than Kensington, the only station within Chelsea being There have for some time been long term plans for a Chelsea Hackney line, with a station in the King's Road near Chelsea Town Hall, and possibly another at Sloane Square. As of June 2019, the plans for Crossrail 2 materialising show the proposed route tunnelling through Chelsea and featuring the planned station on the site of Dovehouse Green. The future of this station, being the only fully new station on the proposed line, remains ambiguous; initial scrapping of the station idea have been decried by withstanding placement of the station on official Transport for London information on the route. A Crossrail station on the original Crossrail route, from Paddington to Reading, has been proposed and endorsed by the council. This station would be located near the northern end of , and would serve the areas of North Kensington and Kensal. The council supports this station concept as it would renew infrastructure and build regeneration benefits in the area.

and are the nearest major railway termini; National Rail stations in the borough are and (and partly ), both served by London Overground and Southern.

Many London bus routes pass through the borough, most of them along King's Road, Fulham Road, Kensington High Street and Ladbroke Grove.

Kensington and Chelsea council has been criticised for its lack of support for cycle lanes and active travel in general. In 2019 the council vetoed a flagship programme by Transport for London for safer walking and cycling in the borough. In 2020 it scrapped a cycle lane along Kensington High Street just seven weeks after it was installed.

In March 2011 the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: underground, metro, light rail, tram, 23.6 percent of all residents aged 16–74; driving a car or van, 8.2 percent; on foot, 8.2 percent; bus, minibus or coach, 8.0 percent; work mainly at or from home, 7.0 percent; bicycle, 3.1 percent; train, 2.1 percent.

The RBKC is a major provider of social housing in the borough owning 9,459 properties. Of these over 73 percent are tenanted, with the remainder being leasehold. responsibility for providing services to those affected by the fire was taken away from RBKC. Prime Minister Theresa May previously branded the response to the tragedy "not good enough", with Whitehall civil servants drafted in as part of a beefed up operation in the local area. Anna Stec who gave evidence as an expert witness to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry has urged the authorities to test rescue workers, nearby residents and survivors for carcinogenic chemicals following the fire.

The following shows the religious identity of residents residing in Kensington and Chelsea according to the 2001, 2011 and the 2021 censuses. Religion20012011 2021Number%Number%Number%Holds religious beliefs120,05275.5110,01169.393,45265.2Christian98,46662.086,00554.269,33548.4Muslim13,3648.415,81210.016,86511.8Jewish3,5502.23,3202.12,6811.9Hindu1,5941.01,3860.91,5841.1Sikh3250.22630.23190.2Buddhist1,8491.22,4471.51,6061.1Other religion9040.67780.51,0640.7No religion24,24015.332,66920.635,61024.8Religion not stated14,6279.215,96910.114,31110.0Total population158,919100.0158,649100.0143,373100.0

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Sir Winston Churchill: 1949. (Borough of Kensington)