There was a strict rule of conduct governing the court. For the most part there was just a lot of standing about waiting, but bear in mind some of the people that were there, were there to find wives, (well that what I think anyway.)
The closer you could get to the King the more chance there was to inprove your social standing, higher on the social standing meant more wealth and more wealth meant being able to find a better match for yourself. You kind of have to feel sorry for old lard arse in a way because save for Charles Brandon, (although he did push his luck with lard arse a few times) he had very few true freinds, the people around him were always out for themselves and what they could get. If the maids had sweethearts amongst the court they probably did meet in secret at times but for the most part they were I believe usually chaperoned.
A lot of people standing around the court doing nothing did happen but there again if you look at it from another point of view, it all helped Lard arses’s ego too. If there were very few people at the court the rest of the world would want to know why? and would surmise that Henry obvisously was not popular etc, and that it was best to stay away from the court.
But the more people there were at court the more the rest of the world would say “Wow Henry is an amazing guy, his court must be a fantastic place to be etc” So everybody would want to come to couurt just to be seen even if they didn’t get anything from it. Think about it. If you were a gentleman around his court and a lady catches you eye would she like you more if you said “Hey babe do you want to be my girl” and then she asked you what you do and who you are? you answer “I’m Sir Neil I clean the jakes out.” Or “I’m Sir Neil I am part of the in Crowd in King Henry’s court”?
James 1st court was a prime example of how popularity can suddenly take a nose dive, When Anne of Denmark his wife was alive things were ok in court but once she had died people ddn’t want to be at his court anymore. It was said that he was covered with lice, and stunk the place out almost as bad as Henry 8 did. There was a reason for that, basically James never washed and the only time he went near water was when he reluctantly washed his finger tips. He also wore a heavily padded doublet all of his life, because he was mortally afraid of assasination. Can’t blame him for that as most of his predessors had been murdered as well as 3 of his guardians.

Possibly Weir’s Henry VIII: King and Court too.

On another note, I really looked forward to reading Karen Lindsey’s Divorced, Beheaded, Survived: A Feminist Reinterpretation Of The Wives Of Henry VIII; unfortunately, it was very dry reading – basically a retelling of the story of Henry’s marriages – with the “Feminism” bit tacked-on (as a selling-point, perhaps?). Avoid.