(18 Feb 2011)
On Friday we saw Hampton Court, the palace of Henry VIII. Yes, he’s the one who had 6 wives. Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.
What I really liked about Hampton Court, though, was the way it presented the young Henry VIII. What few people realize is that Henry VIII was married to his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, for over 20 years before deciding that he needed a new, younger queen to give him a male heir. Also, for those 20 years they were a relatively happy royal couple. Katherine had lived in England since she married Henry’s older brother Arthur at the age of 14? and she ruled as regent when Henry was off fighting wars. He depended on her. He trusted her. Henry doted on his daughter Mary when she was young and they seemed to be, for a long time, a rather ideal royal family. And then something snapped. Even after the divorce and Henry’s marriage with Anne Boleyn, Katherine maintained a remote palace in England after Henry returned to her the title of Dowager Princess of Wales from her six month marriage to Arthur. Katherine refused to recognize the divorce and considered herself the true Queen of England until her death at the age of 50.
The palace has been used by a few other royals, such as Elizabeth I and William and Mary. It has been kept up beautifully and the gardens were lovely to walk through. As I walked on the paths, I imagined I was Princess Elizabeth (who was actually only allowed the title Lady by her father), walking the same grounds where her mother had walked. What a different world that was!
Below is a picture of the court below Henry VIII ‘s window where (I believe) Anne Boleyn pleaded for her life:
