The King’s Beasts are statues of heraldic animals that stand on the bridge over the moat leading to the great gatehouse of Hampton Court Palace. There are ten in all, and they are copies of those carved to celebrate King Henry VIII’s marriage to his third wife, Jane Seymour in 1536. They represent the ancestry of Henry and Jane, and are…
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Today was our Hampton Court Palace day and although I have been many many times, I always learn something new and I always enjoy my time there. It was a perfect day.
We had a two-hour private guided tour from Siobhan, who focused on the Tudor side of things – the history of the original palace built for Cardinal Wolsey, the Tudor kitchens, the Great Hall, Presence Chamber, Haunted Gallery, the Chapel Royal, the Tudor Garden with Edward VI’s nursery… – and then we had free time to enjoy lunch and to visit other parts of the palace. Philippa and I visited the Young Henry VIII exhibition, the William and Mary State Apartments, the Royal Tennis Court and the Cumberland Art Gallery whose rooms are on the footprint of what was Henry VIII’s apartments (there are still some Tudor doorways, stairs and a tower room). We had a fabulous time.
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Hello! Apologies for not posting this yesterday, but it was a very busy day and I was just too tired to write this in the early hours of this morning.
We are having a fantastic time. Lots of “pinch me, am I really here?” moments. Yesterday, after a delicious breakfast, we made our way by coach to Hampton Court Palace, that stunning Renaissance-style palace that Henry VIII pretty much stole from Cardinal Wolsey. OK, Wolsey gave it to him, but what do you say when the king notices that your palace is way better than any of his?!
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Jatinder Kailey from the Adult Learning team at Historic Royal Palaces has just let us know about a series of talks they’re holding as part of their season of evening talks at Hampton Court Palace on finding favour at court.
“The Tudor royal court entertained a vast community of people who provided the engine of the monarchy. From mistresses to politicians and servant to nobleman, who held the positions of power? Join us this autumn as we explore how courtiers moved up and down the Tudor court hierarchy in a dangerous game of snakes and ladders. Did they succeed or fail?”
There are 4 talks taking place in November:
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British History Tours will soon be publicising its 2018 “Anne Boleyn Experience” tour which will run from 16-20 May 2018.
The tour will be led by Philippa Lacey Brewell of British History Tours and Claire Ridgway (me!) and will be based at Hever Castle, childhood home of Queen Anne Boleyn. Participants will stay in a luxury private wing at Hever Castle and there will be tours of the castle, Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London. We’ll actually be visiting the Tower of London on 19th May, the anniversary of Anne Boleyn’s execution.
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On this day in 1537, three days after his birth, Henry VIII’s son, the future Edward VI, was christened in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court in a lavish ceremony. You can read a primary source account of the christening in an article I wrote over at The Anne Boleyn Files – click here.
In 2015 Lucy Worsley and David Starkey celebrates the 500th anniversary of Britain’s finest surviving Tudor building, Hampton Court Palace, in a documentary which saw a re-enactment of the christening of Prince Edward, the future Edward VI.
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The foundations of the royal apartments built for Anne Boleyn in the 1530s have just been discovered under the wooden floorboards of one of the Georgian rooms.
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Hampton Court has origins far older than Henry VIII. Originally Hampton Court was a settlement belonging to the Saxon period; its original name was ‘Hammton’ meaning ‘a settlement by the river’. In the early 12th century the land was owned by Reginald de St Valery, a crusader in Jerusalem. He allowed the Knights Hospitallers of St John to rent the land. The Knights built the House of Hampton and the land was primarily used to manage the Knights agricultural estates.
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