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Hampton Court - The Palace

Henry VIII summered here, it was one of his favourite Palaces! He'd bring along his current wife, dine on entire roast animals while lubricating himself with more than the lions share of the nectar of the gods! 

And talk about a Lion - Henry VIII was a beast of a man. Some called him the Ginga Ninja, but never to his face... 

Henry appreciated the finer things in life. He was also a bit of a ladies man, not always a whole ladies man, but sometimes a little head here and there never hurt (him!)

Our first view of the palace...

Henry's wine cellar (you all knew I'd find it!)

And in colour...

Walk through the entrance into the courtyard - columns: inspiration for many a house

The clock tower entrance

A close-up

Roof decoration: they were big into this

The big man himself!

The page boy's room

Some more roof decor.

A small tapestry

Robbie tries out the spectacles!

Skill demonstration: getting the ball into the cradle isn't as easy as it looks

Window decorations, also quite popular

More roof decorations - gold plated please!

Service please!

Wall decorations...

The family

Another little tapestry

A rad fireplace!

A close up...

An even closer up

An example of the wall detail

One of the many paintings

Queen Anne's throne chair - not quite what you'd expect, could be a little more glamorous!

Explaining the image above

Not so big, only entire-average-room-size!

Some more intricate detail!

Let them eat...

A little light action!

Yes, a wall decoration with gold thread!

It's easier to take pics than try to explain!

Appropriate: angels fly on the roof!


A little view - average!

Roof decoration - should they have gone for wall paper?

A.

B.

C.

A little Fountain Court view - I liked this space

The Fountain Court

A view across the Fountain Court

Some wall decorations - nothing like intimidation through visualisation!

Nice...

A little wall decoration - there are tons of these awesome tapestries!

King size? No shortage of fabric here

The regal bog - King Henry liked to rest his rump on a little velvet!

HCP with flag flying

A layout of the palace & garden

This is what the above painting is about & by who

Some fire place accessories - old school!

A complementary bed-pan in each royal chamber

Cards gentlemen? (We accidentally set the alarm off in here - just checking if they used the same amount of cards for 
P 'n P?)

Queen Mary (?) II's bath tub - they used to bath with the cloth in (protection from splinters?)

I think this was Queen Mary II's dressing table

Ornate roof - an eg. of the attention to detail!

King Henry VIII & his last wife Kateryn Parr (who knew they had colour cameras in 1543?)

Hampton Court Palace is open from Monday to Sunday from 10:00 - 17:00 (although in summer they're open until 18:00). It costs £14 for adults, £7 for kids and £11.50 for pensioners. It's worth it to go on a good day / a day with no rain because the gardens are beautiful and it's worth taking the time to explore them. If you have time constraints work on 2 hours for the palace and 2 hours for the garden (including a little R&R). There is also the maze, which is great fun for both big and little kids! And carriage rides (summer only) that take you through the grounds. And for those who wish to make it a whole day experience there are two places you can get a bite to eat or a coffee. 

Lucky

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