This post is from about 35,000 feet over La Manche – England has been kind to us with sunshine most days, a little cold one morning having to scrape ice from the car and only a sprinkle of rain on our last day in London.
So after another day exploring the motorways of the south we rocked up at the Hampton Court Palace carpark ready to explore Henry VIII digs.
Yep – this guy – you know he of the six wives – and what a palace he had Cardinal Worsley build for him.
One of the more interesting parts of the palace were the apartments of William III – William of Orange
William was more interested in fighting wars than affairs of state and this ante room was created by his armourer with working muskets and pistols – by all accounts they were taken down once a year for cleaning.
And hung with sumptuous tapestries with gold thread . .
Of course, if you are the king, you can rip out the previous garden and have it replanted in the French parterre style so that you can enjoy the view from your apartments
To Henry’s apartments . . .
While we waited for a service to finish in the Royal Pew – it is Sunday after all – we checked out some of the art from the Royal Collection
and Caravaggio
The Royal Pew or Chapel Royal was Henry’s personal place of worship
Back into the light – a couple of pics of the Clock Court and even the chimneys are works of art
Lunch and a quick skip through the gardens as rain – yep rain – threatened . . .
With a detour into the Fountain Court . . .
And off to Heathrow to turn the car in, leaving my Akubra in it for good measure 😠
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