Six wives of one king day 10
Our last day together started with a short drive of only 40 minutes along the south coast from Lewes to Arundel castle, the home of the Duke of Norfolk. It’s a castle on a grand scale and the very idea of a fairy tale castle, it’s the second largest inhabited castle in the country and has been a centre of the Howard family for centuries. It makes you want to dress up and just wander around the place in costume. There are gardens to wander around that were opened by Prince Charles in 2008, the layout of which was inspired by a portrait hanging in the castle drawing room.
The castle has a Norman keep built with a commanding view of the whole of the Arun valley, the keep has many steps to get to the top but the effort is well worth it. There are medieval parts of the castle too with towers and rooms set out as it was hundreds of years ago.
For the Tudor purists there are many portraits of the Howards on the walls and in a glass case almost missed are the pearl necklace and the gold girdle once owned by Mary Queen of Scots. The 4th Duke lost his head for plotting to marry her without permission for Elizabeth I.
The Duke is the hereditary Earl Marshall of England and is responsible for the organisation of all state occasions and he must have been very busy over the jubilee weekend. The Duke’s diary was on display and open for the 2 &3rd of June 1953, it simply said 'Coronation'.
On display in the Great hall are the retired helms of the order of the Garter, that means when a member of the order passes away his or her helm in St Georges chapel Windsor are retired and taken down and kept for ever. The Duke, as the Earl Marshall has the responsibility to keep them safe, where better than in a large castle.
On to London for our last night grand banquet in a medieval crypt at St Katherine’s dock near the Tower of London. It’ s great fun with music and performers, jugglers and some very good sword fighting in the crypt. Where else can you get to dress up and meet King Henry VIII for some royal entertainment?
Our final night together was in a boutique hotel in Kensington near to Hyde Park, the V&A museum and Kensington Palace.
The castle has a Norman keep built with a commanding view of the whole of the Arun valley, the keep has many steps to get to the top but the effort is well worth it. There are medieval parts of the castle too with towers and rooms set out as it was hundreds of years ago.
For the Tudor purists there are many portraits of the Howards on the walls and in a glass case almost missed are the pearl necklace and the gold girdle once owned by Mary Queen of Scots. The 4th Duke lost his head for plotting to marry her without permission for Elizabeth I.
The Duke is the hereditary Earl Marshall of England and is responsible for the organisation of all state occasions and he must have been very busy over the jubilee weekend. The Duke’s diary was on display and open for the 2 &3rd of June 1953, it simply said 'Coronation'.
On display in the Great hall are the retired helms of the order of the Garter, that means when a member of the order passes away his or her helm in St Georges chapel Windsor are retired and taken down and kept for ever. The Duke, as the Earl Marshall has the responsibility to keep them safe, where better than in a large castle.
On to London for our last night grand banquet in a medieval crypt at St Katherine’s dock near the Tower of London. It’ s great fun with music and performers, jugglers and some very good sword fighting in the crypt. Where else can you get to dress up and meet King Henry VIII for some royal entertainment? 
Our final night together was in a boutique hotel in Kensington near to Hyde Park, the V&A museum and Kensington Palace.
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