Hampton Court Palace

I’m back with another belated entry!

On 28 May 2012, EN and I made a trip to Hampton Court Palace. This trip was important for me, as people who know my fascination with the monarchy have always asked if I made it there during mine and Nic’s first trip in 2008. We did not—instead, we went to Hatfield House, where Elizabeth I learned she was to be queen following her sister’s death, on that trip. So, this time, it was imperative that I visit one of the primary residences of King Henry VIII.

Me, standing outside the Main Entrance into the Base Court

Map of Hampton Court Palace, courtesy of the palace itself.

Originally built in the early 16th Century for the infamous Cardinal Wolsey, after the latter lost favor it was turned over to the king. The front half of the palace is reflective of Tudor construction, and closely resembles the other remaining palace from Henry’s reign, St James’s. 

Today, visitors to this section of the palace are able to walk through the former king’s kitchens and apartments, as well as undertake a ‘tour’ of the young Henry’s life.  

Regarding the kitchens, it was interesting to see how meals were turned out for such a large court, including the line of massive roasting spits and fireplaces, and the seldom considered offices belonging to the bureaucrats in charge of monitoring the incoming and outgoing (read: consumed) stores.

One of a line of four or five roasting fires, each of which could accommodate 7 spits.

Even more interesting to me than the kitchens, however, were the king’s apartments. 

I took a lot of photos of the Great Hall in particular. Aside from being simply gorgeous, it was also the last medieval hall of its type built for the English monarchy. 

The Great Hall, near the King's Dais and Table

We were also able to enter the Great Watching Chamber (a large room, complete with medieval board games and a bathroom), which is positioned just outside the king’s private rooms, and where courteous would hang out in hopes of catching a moment of Henry’s time. 

From there, we moved into one of two long hallways. The first features the adjoining room where paiges slept and awaited orders, and the second leads to both the King’s Council Chamber and the special room overlooking the Royal Chapel reserved for the sovereign. 

This King awaits his advisers in the Council Chamber

The Royal Pew, overlooking the Royal Chapel. (It's crooked because we weren't allowed to take photos directly.)

Now, one of these hallways is supposedly haunted—in fact, it’s referred to as the Haunted Gallery—but I can’t recall exactly which. Maybe both? I’m pretty sure the audio-tour suggested that it was the former, but I’ve also heard that the supposed ghost is that of Henry’s ill-fated wife Catherine Howard, and that she lurks near the chapel. (You can read more about the Haunted Gallery here and watch a brief video about other haunted happenings at Hampton Court here.)

The second distinctive section of the palace—an add-on, if you will—was built in the Baroque style at the behest of Queen Mary II and her co-regnant, King William III, almost 100 years later. Within this section, guests can visit the private apartments of the aforementioned, as well as the Georgian apartments.

The W&M section--you can see the edge of the Tudor section near the top of the hedge on the left.

Queen Mary’s apartments had been transformed, owing to a exhibition titled ‘The Wild, The Beautiful, & The Damned’—basically, paintings of upper-class women and kingly mistresses who modeled for risqué portraits during the Stuart era—so there wasn’t much to see there, sadly. King William’s apartments, on the other hand, were gorgeous. 

After ascending the stunning—nay, magnifispeldant (because magnificent and splendid on their own don’t do it justice) King’s Staircase, visitors cross into the King’s Guardchamber, where his protectors…well, basically hung out and showcased their hardware. 

A King ascends the King's Staircase

The King's Guardchamber

From there, guests move through a series of receiving chambers, many with corresponding canopied thrones and one which—as we saw at Windsor—was the official bedroom used for bidding the king goodnight before he retired to a private one. 

How dare they put a rope up to keep me from the throne!

I've informed Nic that I want our bed to look like this.

Eventually, we crossed through the king’s real bedroom, his private office, and even got a peek at the more intimate…ahem, throne. (That’s right, I’m talkin’ about the Royal Loo.)

Not splinters for the sovereign when he sits!

Sadly, we weren’t really able to tour the Georgian apartments—those used by Kings George I and II—because we simply ran out of time. But EN and I did run through that section, so we could at least say we were there. 

It was actually a bit creepy, as it was entirely deserted—even the docents were missing—and we both experienced an eerie ‘we’re not alone’ vibe about the whole section. I actually kind of wish we had seen a spook, as it would have added to the memories, but alas we only had the feelings to go by.

The Cartoon Gallery

Having discussed the interior of Hampton Court Palace, I want to take just a second to address the other thing it’s primarily known for: the gardens and grounds. They were beautiful! That being said, two things of particular note to be found there are the Hampton Court [Hedge] Maze—which I successfully navigated my way out of before EN, who challenged me to a race—and the ‘Great Vine’, which holds the Guinness World Record for being the largest grape vine. (If you’re wondering, it was planted in 1769, still produces a crop of grapes annually, and had at least one branch that was 246’ long as of 2005.)

The Great Vine

So, that’s the gist of mine and EN's day at Hampton Court Palace. It’s a bit expensive to get into—less so if you have a student ID, buy your tickets online in advance, etc.—but certainly worth the trip if you ever find yourself in London with nothing to do (as unlikely as that is)!