The Palace

The Palace tells five centuries of British history through Hampton Court and the people who occupied, governed, visited and maintained it. Thomas Wolsey transformed an existing manor into a palace capable of receiving rulers and ambassadors before Henry VIII absorbed it into the royal estate. Tudor marriages, childbirths, religious changes and court entertainments established Hampton Court as one of the principal stages on which monarchy displayed its power.

Russell follows the building through the Stuart court, civil war, Commonwealth, Restoration and William III’s ambitious reconstruction, then into its later life as grace-and-favour accommodation, public monument and heritage site. Political crises, scandals, theatre, architecture and royal ceremony are organised around the rooms in which they occurred. The book’s UK subtitle refers to five hundred years of history at Hampton Court; the US edition describes the same work as five hundred years of British history.