Sorry about the delay in posting this but yesterday, Day 6, was a very busy day and last night was our last night so I just didn’t get chance to write.
Day 6 of The Executed Queens Tour was spent at Hampton Court Palace where we had a private guided tour from Siobhan, who works as a costumed interpretor there. She showed our group around the Tudor parts of the castle which included Henry VIII’s apartments, the Great Hall, Privy Chambers etc.
We saw things like the Abraham Tapestries, the Haunted Gallery, said to be haunted by Catherine Howard, the remaining HA motif on a wooden screen, Tudor portraits, the Chapel Royal… Some of the group even saw part of the palace which is not generally open to the public: a secret staircase used by Henry VIII.
We had a very exciting moment when we stumbled on Queen Catherine Howard having a secret assignation with Thomas Culpeper and using us as chaperones. What they did I cannot tell, as we were sworn to secrecy, but all of the rumours you hear about her could be true…
After lunch, we had free time and some of us chose to go with Siobhan and have a guided tour of the gardens, which were incredibly beautiful. We also saw a game of Royal Tennis being played so that was very exciting!
On our return to Hever we had some free time to relax or enjoy the gardens before our final dinner which was served in the main Castle dining room. Tim and I were presented with a lovely thank you card from the group and we all swapped email addresses and chatted about our favourite parts of the tour. It was a fantastic meal in sumptuous surroundings but the fun didn’t end there as most of us then walked up the very dark lane to the local pub – The Henry VIII pub (yes, I know, not a good name!) – for a drink. A good time was had by all and then it was back to the castle to retire until morning. Aching feet and tired eyes, but a warmed heart!
P.S. It was great to meet Anne Boleyn Files visitor, David, and his wife Linda at Hampton Court Palace – so nice to finally put faces to names!
