Hampton Court Palace

Our road trip of southern England began with a drive to Hampton Court Palace. It was used pretty extensively by the royals form the mid-1500s to 1700s, so there is a great deal of history on these grounds. Henry VIII’s ill-fated son Edward was born here in 1537. Henry’s wife, Jane Seymour, died here days later. Here Henry learned of the infidelities of Catherine Howard. Here James I held his Hampton Court Conference in 1604, which led to the King James authorized version of the Bible. Here Charles I was held prisoner for there months by Oliver Cromwell in 1647. Sadly, in 1689 King Willliam III had architect Christopher Wren tear down Henry’s old lodgings and the courtyard to make room for a more modern design, so much from those days has vanished. In 1702, soon after William finished his renovations, he fell while riding his horse in the park here and died soon after. I won’t be superstious and blame Henry’s ghost.