In case you hadn't guessed yet I'm a big history geek and in particular British history. I think it started when I was at Gipsey Bridge, when Mr Jones told us all about these powerful kings and queens of years gone by, of battles won and lost, none of them really gripped me like the story of Henry VIII though. In fact my topic folder all about the Tudors and Stuarts got countywide recognition as being an excellent study into the time period.
I think there could be argument for him being the most influential King that Great Britain or England as it was in those days has ever had. We all know about his six wives and the story behind his breakaway from the Catholic Church and the formation of the Church of England. He was all powerful, remember this was before Charles I and Oliver Cromwell who limited the power of the monarch, his story is one of the cornerstones of English history and I for one am fascinated by it.
This is why on my list was a visit to Hampton Court Palace, his home in his later years, after he 'acquired' it from his former advisor Thomas Wolsey. It was here that he ran the kingdom and married the vast majority of his wives. He was and still is a very polarising figure. He's often been described as one the most charismatic rulers to sit on the throne and his reign is considered one of the most important, he was a scholar, a composer, in his early life active, he was the first in a new breed of king whose rule was absolute and given to him by the divine right of God himself.
His palace was in short amazing, the great hall covered in it's tapestry's, the Chapel Royal with its fusion of religious and monarchy iconography, the recreated crown was a particular highlight, after the original had been melted down by Oliver Cromwell and his posse after they deposed Charles I. Standing there in the rooms that he had lived in, eaten in, it just conjured up images of what it must have been like to be part of his court, watch him plan his breakaway from the Catholic Church. The great hall with it's carved wooden celing with it's hidden nod to Anne Boleyn that was missed during the kings efforts to erase her from the castle. The waiting room where news of the birth of the future Edward Vi and later when the news that Jane Seymour had died just days after the birth.
It was added to by the Georgian dynasty and as such there is a massive difference in the styles of the two halves of the palace, equally both are great examples of the architecture and styles of the times they were built but it is quite odd when you get to the end of the corridor of the Tudor walk, with portraits of Mary, Elizabeth, Edward, Henry's children who reigned after him, and you enter The Queens Staircase, it has such a different feel to it you almost forget you're still in the same place. This part of the palace is much more opulent and had a very regal feeling to it, the ceilings and walls covered in amazing art work, telling stories of people like Alexandra the great.
One of the more unique things I saw during my visit here was the famous Chocolate Kitchen, in which the only job the 'chef' had was to make a chocolate drink for the king, now this wasn't an easy task in those days and took in lots of processes but to have your own special kitchen dedicated to hot chocolate....maybe when I win the lottery! The Tudor kitchens with a roaring fire added a realistic touch adding to the experience of what it would have been like to work in the place creating the many dishes that the king and his court consumed.
I briefly visited some of the gardens but it was far to hot to stay outside for to long, though the mango sorbet that I acquired did the job of cooling me down quite well, Thus brings the end of this little trip away and another one checked off the list. I do intend to go back here and do the gardens in more details when it's little bit cooler outside. I would recommend a trip here for all, just to absorb all the history of the place, to have a glimpse into who I would say is one of the most influential Britains, for good or bad that ever lived.
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