six wives of one king day 2

Day 2 Our first full day on tour, and it was memorable. We only had to walk across the road to Hampton Court Palace to immerse ourselves in the heart of Tudor Britain. The Palace is the only one left out of the 60 Palaces that Henry VIII built or confiscated. It is a vast place with many parts to see form the Tudor period. There are the Kitchens, or really a food factory for 700 meals twice a day. The Great Hall is wonderful and when there is nobody else in there you can hear a pin drop. The Young Henry exhibition follows the life of Henry, and along the Gallery that resonates with Tudor events, Catherine Parr married Henry here and Catherine Howard ran screaming after Henry after her arrest. The Chapel Royal also holds an important place, here Henry received the letter damning Catherine Howards infidelity. There are many other exhibitions to see not in the Tudor period such as the Wild the Beautiful and the Damned. Portraits of the mistresses and courtesans of Charles II are on display, some incredibly beautiful women and one huge one of Charles II in full royal regalia. The real joy of the day though is little play-lets running throughout the day, and today’s theme was Henry VIII trying to woo and placate Anne Boleyn, it is hugely entertaining and a great way to get schoolchildren engaged in history. We managed to catch up with Henry and Anne and get a royal photo.It was great fun and we got involved in the action, Cromwell was a great character and the King can command silence from any group of school children. We the travelled to Windsor only 16 miles away but along the river Thames and again there is history all around you, we passed the site of the signing of Magna Carta in 1215 the first written bill of human rights. At Windsor we were just on time to attend the evensong service in St Georges Chapel. It’s a great feeling when challenged where you’re going at the gates of Windsor Castle to reply evensong and be shown the way to go. We finished the day and a fine Greek restaurant and some Greek beer.

day 1

Six Wives of One King, day 1 Before the official start of the tour we travelled southwest tour of London by train to the Vyne at Basingstoke in Hampshire. The Vyne is a beautiful place full of Tudor history, but long before that time the Romans first planted grape vines here in England and it’s been called the Vyne ever since for 1600 years. The place was once owned by the Sandys family who are courtiers of Henry VIII and we started at the Vyne for two reasons which will become very much clearer as the tour progresses. The first is the Oak panelled long gallery. Still in it’s original condition, there are carvings of pomegranates, and other symbols relating to Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII and it’s a truly remarkable place to stand in and realise that this is where Henry stood. The second reason is the stained glass windows in the Chapel, There are three windows, one is of Henry VIII, one for Catherine of Aragon and Henry’s sister Margaret each with their own patron saint. The Windows are superb and also remarkable that they survived Oliver Cromwell during our civil war in the 1640’s. They were in fact hidden in a pond for several years to keep them safe. After the Vyne we drove to Hampton Court, no not to go to the Palace but to just leave our luggage at the hotel before we set of on the first real leg of the tour to Syon House about 6 miles away. Syon is a very important Tudor house, it’s been the home of the Percy family for over 450 years. Here in the long gallery is where Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen. The gallery has been remodelled since the Tudor period, but if you keep in mind the image of the long Gallery at the Vyne then you get a true picture of what it looked like in 1553, where for just 9 days Lady Jane Grey was Queen. We then came back to Hampton Court to go to Palace and have a lesson of real tennis, nothing like lawn tennis that Roger Federer or Nadal play today but the game that Henry VIII played actually on this very site, indoors and with galleries, sloping roofs, a bell and a played with a hard ball made of cork, leather and string binding. It’s a very difficult game to master with complicated rules and lots of different lines on the court. We finished the day with a splendid dinner and wine at the hotel overlooking the river Thames

day minus 1

Day Minus 1 We’re still a day to go before the tour starts properly but today we went on a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. Courtesy of our local Member of Parliament we enjoyed a personal guided tour around the inside of one of the World’s most recognised buildings. Westminster Great Hall dates from the 1200’ and is the largest space in medieval England. The Palace of Westminster was a royal palace on the side of the Thames and since that time and Henry VIII wanted a better Palace so he built Whitehall Palace. The Great Hall apart, the present Parliament buildings date from the mid 1800’s after the Old Palace burnt down. We were taken through the House of Lords, the Queens room where she puts on the State Regalia for the State opening of Parliament. The red benches of the House of Lords are a stark contrast to the Green of the House of Commons, the green some say is because the commons are green with envy towards the House of Lords. In the audience chamber there are two huge paintings one is the Battle of Waterloo 1815 and the other is the Battle of Trafalgar 1805 both times when the British beat the French. They can be covered up if a French president comes to make a speech. We had tea with our MP Stephen Lloyds who made some time for us out of his busy day in the Pugin room, named after the Architect who built the New Houses of Parliament. Afterwards we had a brief stop in the sunshine on the Terrace of the Houses of Parliament. A great way to spend a morning and we are eagerly awaiting the start proper tomorrow.

Six wives of one King

Day Minus 2 We haven't started yet still two days to go but I picked up a client who arrived in England from the USA 2 days early this morning from Heathrow Airport. We got to the Mad Hatter Hotel by 11 am but needless to say the room wasn’t ready so after a cup of coffee in the bar we decided to go for a little walk. I say a little walk, we were out for a little over 3 hours! The hotel is in Southwark just on the south side of Blackfriars Bridge over the river Thames, so we walked over the bridge to Blackfriars where Baynards castle once stood and on the site of the Blackfriars pub is where the great hall was, here Catherine of Aragon had her annulment trial. From there we walked up Ludgate to St Pauls Cathedral and picked up some leaflets from the Tourist information centre and then went to the Old Bailey which was once the site of the infamous Newgate prison. There was a couple of Barristers in their gown and wigs talking to their clients outside, Just over the road is St Sepulcre’s church . It is here that there is the world’s first public drinking water fountain with cups still chained to the railings. Nearby is the site of the Fortunes of War pub. Grave robbers used to display their stolen bodies waiting for the surgeons to come out of St Bart’s hospital to buy them. In the wall there is a little monument to the edge of the great fire of London, a little fat boy painted gold to remind the people what can happen Just along from there is Ely Place and St Ethelreda’s church, converted back to the Catholic faith in 1874 and is one of the very few churches in the country to say Mass in Latin. Pausing momentarily in Hatton Garden to admire the centre of the World’s diamond trade, ( if you have to ask the cost you can’t afford it) we had lunch in the Citie of Yorke pub, the oldest in London and a very nice Chicken & mushroom pie it was too. After lunch we walked through Lincolns Inn fields, passing the Old Curiosity shop and the back of the Royal Courts of Justice. Lincolns Inn is where St Thomas More practiced Law. Tucked away in a little corner is one of the most historic buildings in England. It’s where the Bank of England was first set up in 1693 by the King and some influential Merchants. A walk through Chancery Lane led us to Dr Johnson’s House, the person who wrote the first English Dictionary in 1755 His favourite pub is Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street and still a spit & sawdust establishment. Our final place to pause was St Brides Church just to look at the tiered Spire, built by Sir Christopher Wren, it is the inspiration behind every wedding cake in the Christian world. Finally back over Blackfriars Bridge to the Hotel and about 3 miles the room was ready.

May 15th 1536 Anne Boleyn was found guilty of her alleged crimes of Treason, adultery, incest and others. The Jury was stacked and even her uncle the Duke of Norfolk was presiding. I think the message was clear, get rid of her and quick. Henry couldn't face the prospect of a another divorced wife. Catherine of Aragon had only just died of a broken heart in January and she had continually maintained that she was his one true wife, for 10years! So he didn't want another one doing the same thing. One other curious aspect of the whole thing. She was entenced to be burnt to death or beheaded. The King in his mercy decided that the headsman from Calais should do the deed. Why was that? and when did he decide?

Day 7 Hampton Court Palace

Day 7 Hampton Court Palace.

Only a short journey to get here today so we had the Great hall to ourselves right after the door opened. It’s great to be in there with nobody else, you can really feel the centuries falling away as you look at the Kings tapestries hanging there, each one as costly as a battleship and a magnificent work of art. The story of the series of playlets today was the King chasing Jayne Seymour around the Palace to try and woo her with poetry money. It was the time that Anne Boleyn was in disgrace and the actor playing Thomas Cromwell was especially creepy and unctuous, he even threw two us out of the council chamber! To the great enjoyment of the people gathered there. You just never knew when you would round a corner and there would be Jayne desperately trying to distance herself from the Kings presence and seeking your aid in her endeavours. Great entertainment and a history lesson in one go.

There is much to see in and around Hampton court Palace, the Gardens, the Maze, the Great vine, the kitchens, Young Henry, the history of the palace, and others, not to mention the drop dead excellent pot bellied pies in the kitchen cafe. We kept moving all day with the Tudor parts that we did not have time to visit the new exhibition of the Wild the Beautiful and the damned portraits of King Charles II principle Mistresses, so I well make a special effort to see them next time we’re there in May. We headed off into Central London where we finished off the tour in grand style with a Tudor Banquet in the medieval crypt in St Katherine’s Dock. It’s a hugely enjoyable show and finally exhausted after trying to find Henry all week, we found him here singing Greensleeves to us as we supped our ale and wine.

day 6 Windsor

Day 6 Windsor The Queen was in! The Royal standard was flying above the round tower in the stiff breeze. The Changing of the guards took place in the courtyard which meant we couldn’t see much at all as the public are not admitted there especially when the Queen is at home! We stood at St George’s gate and watched them march out, wow the band was load in such a small confined space.

We were in St Georges chapel almost by ourselves as the crowds always go straight to the State Apartments after the change. We had very engaging chats with the custodians around the place. What has superman got to do with Henry VIII? Well Superman is 500 years old, yes that’s right the new superman film out later this year stars Henry Cavil as Superman. The actor Henry Cavil, as all Tudor fans will know played Charles Brandon alongside Jonathan Rhys Myers Henry VIII. I digress a little but Charles Brandon is buried under a marble slab in St Georges Chapel not too far away from his friend Henry VIII. The Royal apartments are elegant and again we managed to view everything within them without all the crowds so we took our time and finished our tour in the new undercroft cafe. The rain had kept the crowd s thin out and it’s a perfect time to go and visit as the royal apartments can take two hours to go round. There’s a lot to see in Windsor other than the castle, the Crooked House for example is a delightful tea room that has much more charm in its wonky timber interior than the usual coffee houses that you can find anywhere.

Dinner tonight was in a lovely family run Greek restaurant with a superb bottle of Cypriot wine.