I Went To Hampton Court Palace!

It is my sixteenth day in The United Kingdom and today I took a train to Hampton Court Palace!

Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace owned by King Charles III in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. This palace was once owned by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who was the chief minister of King Henry VIII. Thomas Wolsey fell out of favor with King Henry VIII in 1529 because he could not secure an annulment for King Henry VIII’s first marriage with Queen Catherine of Aragon. To try to regain favor with the king, Wolsey gave King Henry VIII his entire estate. Although King Henry VIII took the estate, he still arrested Wolsey for treason. Wolsey died the same year on his way to his trial. King Henry VIII was never a merciful king. His six wives would agree with me.

Hampton Court Palace became one of King Henry VIII’s favorite residences and referred to it has his “Pleasure Palace.” He turned the palace into a place of entertainment where aristocratic individuals could hunt, have huge, elegant banquets, and watch jousting matches and theatre. In 1960, King William III commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to help him began his massive expansion on Hampton Court Palace. They destroyed most of the Tudor architecture and replaced it with Baroque. In 1694, King William III’s work came to an end, which caused the palace to have two contrasting architectural styles. Tudor in the front of the palace, and Baroque in the back of the palace. Although these styles were different, they somehow complimented each other. The pink brick is what helped the two styles blend nicely. King George II was the last king to live in Hampton Court Palace and it remained unoccupied until Queen Victoria opened the palace up to the public in 1838. Since then, it has been a tourist attraction where millions of visitors have stepped foot on to the palace grounds.

I enjoyed my time while walking around Hampton Court Palace. It was quite relaxing strolling through the extravagant gardens with my friends until we got lost in the hedge maze for a good 10 minutes. I loved discovering the orchard, the river, and the greenhouse that were hidden by the brick walls of the palace. It was peaceful, and I was always trying find more doors to more hidden places.

I would like visit Hampton Court Palace again. Not because I’m interested in learning more about King Henry VIII (I’m not the biggest fan of him,) but because the palace was so massive that I wasn’t able to see all the places I wanted to see. I couldn’t see King William III’s apartments that he added onto the palace in 1690. I heard that there was a grand staircase and multiple beautiful paintings that covered the walls and the ceilings of the apartment. It would have been nice to see that.