The Royal Palaces are fascinating buildings - ornate with gold and carved marble, displaying the excess of the monarchy and royal life that have fascinated ordinary people for hundreds of years. Our interest in visiting the Palaces stemmed from watching many Royal Family documentaries during the time of the Royal Wedding.
The history of Britain is linked with the stories of the monarchy and this blog features our visits to the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and Hampton Court Palace.
Tower of London
The Tower of London dominates the skyline along the north bank of the Thames near the City of London. Built in by William the Conqueror, the White Tower dates back to 1078AD and has functioned as a palace and prison over the centuries.
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| White Tower, built by William the Conqueror |
We visited the Tower using a 2 for 1 voucher that we had seen on one of the common tourist sites. It is handy tip that if you are visiting London, look for special discounts on popular attractions as it can save you a bit of money.
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| Tower of London |
Our visit to the Tower took close to four hours, as we spent a lot of time walking the walls, visiting (and queuing) to see the Crown Jewels, listening to the Yeomen Warders recite the history of the political prisoners that have been detained in the tower, visiting the medieval weaponry exhibition, Traitors Gate, and the tradition of keeping ravens to protect the Crown
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| Olie and crossbow |
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| King Henry VIII's war armour |
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is located in Greater London, a short train ride away to the Borough of Richmond. We visited the Palace during summer and whilst the weather was nice, the gardens play host to one of the UK's top flower shows and it may be more interesting to time your visit with that event.
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At the fountain in the Formal Gardens
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| White swans |
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| Surrounded by sculptured gardens |
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| Inside the Knot Gardens (16th century design) |
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| Fountain courtyard, Hampton Court Palace |
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| The Great Vine, the oldest and greatest vine in the world planted in 1768 |
Hampton Court is best known as the residence that King Henry VIII took over from its owner - the Archbishop of York, Thomas Wolsey who had been unsuccessful in brokering a divorce between the King and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
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| Henry VIII taking a stroll through the palace |
Whilst the Palace is not used as a residence of the current Royal Family it has been restored with furniture and artwork to illustrate life in Tudor or Stuart Period UK. Highlights included the Banquet Hall and the Queen Mary apartments.
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| Tudor Banquet Hall, Hampton Court Palace |
During Summer, Buckingham Palace is open the public and weekend tickets often sell out in advance so it is advisable to buy online at least a couple of weeks before you wish to visit. Our visit was booked in for around 10am and the combined ticket allowed us into the Queen's Gallery, State Rooms and Royal Mews.
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| Statue of Queen Victoria |
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Buckingham Palace at night
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Queens Gallery
The Queen's Gallery contained an exhibition on Dutch landscapes and a collection of antiques owned by the Royal Collection that are held in trust by the Queen as Sovereign for her successors and the nation.
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Royal Collection is formed from the artwork owned by the Royal Family including jewellery, ceramics, paintings and textiles. To avoid getting overwhelmed by the volume of artifacts on display, we recommend accessing the website in advance of your trip to identify key pieces and to learn about the unique history of each piece to ensure your visit to the gallery is more meaningful.
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| Rembrandt - Fisherman and his wife |
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| Napoleon's coat |
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| Golden Shield |
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| French clock, collection of King George IV |
State Apartments
The State Apartments are the highlight of the Palace interior that is open to the public. Unfortunately we were not permitted to take photos within the rooms, so we can only describe them as being richly decorated in a variety of colours and themes. The walls were decorated by famous paintings by Sir Anthony van Dyck, Rubens and Canaletto.
At the time of our visit, the main exhibition hall focused on the Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress, shoes, jewellery and cake. Television screens ran short documentaries on the unique design of the dress and the number of hours spent by hand on completing the lace embroidery.
In a nearby room, the Queen's collection of Faberge jewellery was on display including an assortment of jewellery boxes, picture frames, snuff boxes and two of the famous 'Easter Eggs' coated in precious stones that were given as gifts by members of other related royal families
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| Image from web - Mosaic Faberge Egg |
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Image from web - Basket of Flowers Faberge Egg
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After the tour, we visited the gardens behind the Palace where the Queen hosts her famous garden parties; and we ate afternoon tea at the small cafe onsite.
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| Back gardens |
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| Afternoon tea at the Palace cafe |
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| Palace Gardens showing the change in Autumn leaf colour |
Royal Mews
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