Peeps at Royal Palaces of Great BritainHome, Beatrice
History
Peeps at Royal Palaces of Great Britain
Home, Beatrice
Palaces -- Great Britain
Though Wolsey had handed over the lease of Hampton Court to the King
in 1525, when the first small cloud of royal displeasure had appeared,
he continued to occupy his beautiful palace for four more years, until
his final disgrace over the question of the divorce with Katharine of
Aragon. King Henry took possession in 1529, and at once began building
apartments for the Lady Anne Boleyn, though Queen Katharine was still
with him. Four years later, after Cranmer had pronounced a divorce,
the Pope still remaining obdurate, Anne Boleyn spent a gay and
brilliant honeymoon within the Cardinal's palace, recking little that
the fickle King who had thrown off a faithful servant and a devoted
wife for her sake, was to condemn her within a few years to a cruel
death.
Hampton Court remained Henry's favourite palace, for he was proof
against any sad memories of past wives, while he was enjoying the
company of another. Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife, whom he married
the day after Anne Boleyn was executed, gave birth to Henry's only
son, Edward, within the palace, the young Prince being received with
great rejoicings, which were cut short by the death of his mother a
few days afterwards. Catharine Howard and Catharine Parr were both
married at Hampton Court, and Anne of Cleves also spent a short time
there, so that the palace is associated with all the wives of Henry
VIII.
As a builder, King Henry is responsible for the Great Hall, on the
north side of the Clock Court, a fine Perpendicular building, with a
rich ceiling and large bay window.
Even when, in his later years, he could no longer enjoy his favourite
sports of hunting, archery, tennis, and fishing, owing to his
increasing corpulence, Henry retained his love for the Cardinal's
palace, and was often there amusing himself with games of backgammon
and dice, and playing on the lute, having been always fond of music.
Queen Mary, Henry's eldest daughter, spent her gloomy honeymoon at
the palace, none of her English subjects welcoming her marriage with
Philip II. of Spain. Philip, though outwardly devoted, was not much in
love with his plain and unattractive wife, who seems to have lost all
joyousness during the years of her retirement following the divorce
of her mother. Deep melancholy and despair settled down upon the
unfortunate Queen, when her hopes of an heir to carry on her work of
restoring the Roman Catholic religion in England were denied, and she
knew that her Protestant sister must succeed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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