Hampton Court palace in the snow

An out of the usual season visit to Hampton Court Palace for the day and snow lay all about crisp and even but not too deep. The snow had the advantage that most of the tourists stayed away so we had a great time wandering around with not too many people getting in the way. The gardens were closed off due to the ice and snow but the warm inside of the palace made up for that. The day at court series of play-lets was about King Henry VIII trying to woo Jane Seymour. With her brothers help, he set about trying to convince her of his love whilst plotting to get rid of Anne Boleyn. He gave her some money (taken from the brother of course. Which she refused playing the long game. The characters are really great and in the setting that the events actually took place makes the whole palace come alive and for the kids it's a brilliant way to learn and observe history. One youngster was given the task of presenting the gift on behalf of the King to Jane Seymour. We didn't see the end of the series as we had a thoroughly entertaining, informative and interesting two hours at the Royal school of Needlework. The school has it's base at the Palace and it is the 140th year anniversary of it's founding this year. We saw some excellent craft from bygone years and there were some students sewing in the studio so we were able to chat about their work. It was quite incredible to see a person working with gold thread, yes actual gold thread! triple wound for strength and sewn without the aid of a magnifying glass. Under great secrecy in 2011, The ladies there were the people who sewed the wedding dress for Kate Middleton yes that dress! but shhhh! I can't tell you any more about it. We finished the day off with a splendid three course dinner and an excellent bottle of wine at the Mitre Hotel just opposite the Palace finishing off with coffee and tea in the minstrels library before donning our overcoats for the journey back to central London. Areallt great day all round and thanks to the ladies at The RSN