Henry VIII was the prime mover of Hampton Court after he took the property, over 300 acres I believe, from Cardinal Wolsey. Henry took it in retaliation for the Cardinal being unable to get a divorce agreed to by the Pope between Henry and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, who was unable to bear him a male heir to the throne. Cardinal Wolsey had bought it only years before from the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. [Yep, more information than you need to know.]
At one time there was over 1200 people living there, as staff, members of the court and workmen building this ever enlargening show of opulence and power. Apparently Henry only spent a total of 811 days at Hampton Court Palace during his 38-year reign. His other Palaces at the time included Windsor, and Whitehall and Greenwich, [now both demolished].
The Palace and rooms are interesting enough, and the history that took place there is mind boggling, but the real beauty is in the gardens that are spectacular. It is still a Royal Palace and well maintained, receiving no money from the Government or the Crown. The entrance fee was about $17.00 for us old folks. Well worth it.
The foregoing has at least some semblance of accuracy in it although do not count on it standing up to a real history buff. I will let the pictures attempt to convey the feel of the place.
We basically spent the day there, our feet and bodies finally weakening around 3:15. Again, we had a mere forty-minute ride back to the tranquil home, then a drink and quiet time before dinner.
Tomorrow is to be a 'puttering day', resting for the 16-hour-day excursion to Paris the next day.
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