All of the recent fervor about “America’s royal wedding”—otherwise known as the wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce—has us thinking about the other Americans who are often seen as a kind of national royalty: the Kennedy family. Along with their major political power over the years, and the “Camelot” legacy of President John F. Kennedy, the sprawling Kennedy clan has long been a point of fascination for the American public.
Onlookers have long obsessed about everything from the romantic lives of the Kennedys (as illustrated by the popularity of FX’s Love Story, which chronicled the relationship and tragic deaths of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy), to their schooling, and the way they spend their leisure time. Perhaps the most iconic symbol of the Kennedy family, outside of political office, is their summer retreat in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, known as The Kennedy Compound.
Known as the “Summer White House,” the waterfront homes have played host to generations of Kennedys for vacations, weddings, annual Fourth of July gatherings, and more. Below, see photos of scenes from the Kennedy family’s vacations—dating back almost a century.
