December 7

Thank you so much to James Peacock of The Anne Boleyn Society Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/SocietyAnne/ - for today’s Advent treat, an account of his recent stay at Hever Castle.

In October myself, along with my dear friends authors Sandra Vasoli, Adrienne Dillard and their families spent a weekend at Hever Castle, the childhood home of Queen Anne Boleyn.

Any description I try to give about the weekend doesn’t do it justice in my opinion. Everything from the welcoming of the staff, the luxury of the rooms, the food at breakfast and of course the Castle itself, which is just too beautiful for words.

There were many highlights from the weekend, but here are a few that stand out for me personally:

1. Seeing Sandra and Adrienne’s books (and Claire Ridgway’s as well) on sale at the Hever Castle gift shop. Whilst we were in the shop, a customer even purchased two of Sandra’s books. I know how much time and effort both Sandra and Adrienne have put into writing their books with researching etc. So this was incredibly special.
2. Anne Boleyn’s book of hours. Although I’ve seen these on display before, it always brings a lump to my throat, seeing these books. Knowing that they were so treasured by Anne and that she held them and wrote in them. When you see things like this, it reminds us all that these people were real and not just someone we read about in history books.
3. The luxury of the bed and breakfast. This part was built by the Astor’s and the rooms are just so beautifully decorated. Sitting in these rooms by a roaring fire, or in the billiard’s room makes you feel like you are part of the aristocracy. And the food at breakfast was delicious. I ate far too many pastries!!!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend. From the Castle at night to walking the beautiful gardens. Finally, I would like to say thank you to all the wonderful staff at Hever Castle for making the visit just so special.