British royal history is more popular than ever: We’ve tuned in to royal weddings and funerals, binge-watched “The Crown,” and read countless takes on the inside dramas of the modern royal family.
In his new book, The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of British History at Hampton Court, historian Gareth Russell observes the monarchy from King Henry VIII to Queen Elizabeth II through a unique lens—their connections to specific rooms at Hampton Court Palace. Architecturally breathtaking and rich in splendid art and decor, the palace has served as the stage for some of the most important events in the country’s history.
Henry VIII and his wives, for example, are inextricably linked to Hampton Court. Anne Boleyn was accused of committing adultery at the palace; Henry’s third wife, Jane Seymour, died there while giving birth to his sought-after male heir; his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was arrested at the palace; and a year later, Hampton Court had its first royal wedding when Henry married his sixth wife, Katherine Parr.
The King James Bible was commissioned at Hampton Court in 1604. A group of theologians was summoned to the palace and given seven years to translate a “perfect” English-language version of the Bible. Yet how to translate certain words—particularly “bishops,” “female deacons,” and “sodomy”—proved difficult, and the decisions of the Hampton Court translators would shape British, and later American, Christianity for centuries.
In 1953, the palace hosted a glittering ball for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. The 26-year-old sovereign was joined at the ball by Prince Philip and Princess Margaret, who was upset to discover that the Queen Mother had made sure that Margaret’s divorced boyfriend, Group Captain Peter Townsend, was not present: She had arranged for him to be on duty at a military ball 30 miles away.
Enjoy these glimpses of Hampton Court and more as Russell uncovers the ups and downs of royal history at the palace and what (and who) was at play politically, socially, and economically throughout the centuries.
Copies of The Palace (Atria Books) are available for purchase.
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