Today, our group of students set out on a day trip to the Hampton Court Palace just outside of London. The palace is located in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, 12 miles (19 kilometers) southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. We took the train to London. It was a very nice and short train ride. I rested my eyes and listened to music on the way there. Once we arrived, we made our way to the palace. I was so eager to come here because my favorite tv show, Bridgerton, was filmed here. The Privy Garden serves as the exterior of Queen Charlotte’s palace, and is featured in a number of Bridgerton scenes, including as the backdrop to Viscount Anthony Bridgerton’s lavish wedding to the season’s Diamond, hosted by Queen Charlotte herself.
I was surprised at first by how small the palace was. I think this was because the entrance we went through was near a part of the palace I was unfamiliar with from pictures. However, once I later saw a map of the entire palace, I realized that the palace is quite large. It can appear small at first glance because everything is so spread out rather than cramped together like castles we see in most film or photographs. I immediately took notice of all the beautiful flowers. The grounds and the gardens of the palace were my favorite part of the entire visit. There were fields of flowers with a lovely walking path in the middle.
Once we made our way into the actual palace, we went to the gift shop to retrieve headphones and an educational listening tape so that we could learn more about the individual areas and rooms as we toured. I found it very difficult to hear the audio of the tape and it was quite annoying to wear so I simply just walked around. I enjoyed this much better for it allowed me to see what I wanted to see at my own pace and it was just more relaxing being able to browse. The first thing we saw were Henry VIII’s kitchens. Henry VIII’s Kitchens at Hampton Court Palace were the largest of Tudor England. 200 cooks, sergeants, grooms and pages worked to produce over 800 meals a day for the hungry household of Henry VIII. These kitchens would have been a personal hell and inferno for servants for over 1. 3 million logs were burned in the furnaces every year.
After touring the kitchens, we made our way into the Chapel of the palace. This chapel felt very sacred. The architecture of the ceiling was stunning. with a beautiful gold trim around blue designs. The room was mostly a deep wood with black and white tiled floors. As I walked around the Chapel, I imagined people of royalty sitting the pews for services. I was also very excited to be in the room because many iconic scenes of Bridgerton have been filmed in the Chapel.
Once having seen the ornate chapel, I made my way towards the Fountain Court. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren, Fountain Court was constructed during the reign of William III and Mary II as part of the Baroque remodeling of the palace which began in 1689. With its pristine lawn and elegant central fountain, today the courtyard forms the heart of the Wren palace, and offers view up to the King’s and Queen’s State Apartments. Fountain Court appears in a number of Bridgerton scenes featuring the character of Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), including one moment in which Queen Charlotte takes tea under an elaborate awning, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting.
My favorite part of the palace was of course the Privy Garden. This garden has a fabulous view of the front of the palace. It was when I walked into the garden that I fully could recognize the palace from Bridgerton. I took many photographs in front of the palace with the beautiful garden fountain in the background. Amelia and I even made a Tik Tok featuring a sound from a scene in Bridgerton.
After taking many pictures in the front of the Palace, Emily and I walked around the inside of the palace to see the living quarters of the King and the Queen. It was interesting to see where they slept and did other daily activities. I also enjoyed looking at the many paintings of royalty that lived in the palace or was known during the time of the palace. There were many rooms filled with beautiful tapestries with detailed scenes sewn into them. One room was filled with deer antlers hung everywhere on the wall and that just made me realize that even after hundreds of years, men have never changed.
Emily and I began to feel tired so we then went to a coffee shop and restaurant located in the palace. I ordered a scone and a latte. The latte was so sweet and creamy. We sat with Madison, Alyssa, and Ally as they ate their lunch. Once we were all finished with our food and drinks, Madison and I decided to try out the hedge maze that the gardens had. To our surprise, it was quite difficult to escape. We laughed as we continued to turn aimlessly and confused. We met dead end after dead end until we got tired of hearing screaming school children. That really motivated us to get the heck out of there.
Alyssa met up with me and Madison and we made our way to the beautiful rose and flower garden of the palace. We ended the day on a great note by having a photoshoot with the flowers. We all felt so beautiful taking photos. Having this be our last activity at Hampton Court Palace really showed us just how beautiful the palace is. The groundskeepers work so hard to keep all the gardens maintained. Visiting Hampton Court Palace was probably one of my favorite things that I have done on this study abroad trip, and I’m so happy that we got to take so many wonderful photos of the architecture, the historical objects, and the beautiful gardens. It was such a fun time filled with poses and roses.
Theatre in London U of A 