Going to London to Visit the Queen’s Castles
Story by Andrea Rademan
Photos courtesy of Visit Britain
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|  | Theatres in the West End are home to both long-running shows, like Agatha Cristie’s The Mousetrap, and new offerings | |  | A visit to Hampton Court Palace is a great day out for visitors to London
| |  | London’s National Gallery is one of the world’s finest museums | |
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| Don't leave for London without an umbrella because, as every Englishman knows, "Whatever the weather, without a doubt it's going to rain."
Fortunately, the city is blessed with enough remarkable interior spaces to keep you contented indoors. Many of the these are royal domiciles such as The Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, The State Apartments at Kensington Palace, The Banqueting House at Whitehall Palace and Kew Palace with Queen Charlotte's Cottage, all of which are administered by Historic Royal Palaces, a registered charity responsible for their care and conservation. Whichever you choose to visit, unless your name is inscribed in Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, a tour is the surest way to gain access.
From the early Middle Ages until the middle of the 17th century, the River Thames served as the great royal highway of England. Monarchs used it to travel from palace to palace with their families. Given the recent interest in Harry Potter, London has become a popular destination for non-royal families to bring their own children. Two popular sites are King's Cross train station, where Harry catches a train to Hogwarts School by walking through a brick wall on Platform 9 3/4, and the Reptile House at the London Zoo where the boy wizard discovers his magical powers.
The hands down favorite tourist site is the Tower of London, which has served as an armory, a royal palace and fortress, a prison and place of execution, a mint and a menagerie. It's also where the Crown Jewels are on display and where yeoman warders wander about in their bright red Beefeaters uniforms. Here is where Robert Devereux, the dashing Earl of Essex and one of the most charismatic figures in Elizabethan history, was hung. When he was just 33, he courted the aging Queen Elizabeth I and became her favorite until his intolerable behavior prompted her to sign his death warrant. The authorities, thinking the executioner might faint while hanging this charismatic creature, dispatched a backup to assist him, and posted extra guards at the exits.
At Kensington Palace, visit Queen Victoria's apartments and the Cupola Room, where she was baptized. Admire the dolls and mechanical toys she played with when she was just a young princess. Built as a private country house, when William III and Mary II acquired it in 1689 they hired Sir Christopher Wren to convert it to a palace. The Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, which includes some of the Queen's dresses and several that were worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, outshines anything in Barbie's closet. Queen Victoria oversaw a major restoration of the State Apartments, which opened to the public on her birthday, May 24, in 1899. The Orangery overlooks Kensington Gardens and is famous for their traditional afternoon teas.
Hampton Court Palace, the red brick Tudor residence of Henry VIII (1509-1547), sits on 600 acres of parkland that contain the beautifully restored Privy Garden and Britain's oldest maze. In 1236 it was used for storage but 300 years on it had become a rural retreat, albeit with sparsely furnished state rooms. There was little need for sofas or chairs since the king's subjects were not permitted to sit in his presence.
When the property went to Thomas Wolsey, a Cardinal and Lord Chancellor of England, he created separate apartments for King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon. Unfortunately, Wolsey was unable to procure the Pope's consent for fickle Henry to divorce Catherine so he had to relinquish the palace.
Handsome Henry immediately obliterated any mark of Wolsey. He spent the equivalent of $20 million or so on tennis courts, bowling alleys, gardens, a hunting park, a 36,000 square foot kitchen, a chapel, and a communal dining room called the Great Hall. He also added a garderobe (lavatory) expansive enough to accommodate 28 people and called it the Great House of Easement. Among the 600 servants who worked here, the head of the king's private staff was the Groom of the Stool, who attended the king while he was on the lavatory.
Daniel Defoe (1660–1731), in THE TRUE-BORN ENGLISHMAN, said, "Wealth, howsoever got, in England makes lords of mechanics, gentlemen of rakes; Antiquity and birth are needless here; 'Tis impudence and money makes a peer." The story of Arabella and John proves him correct.
She was scrawny and just 16 when her father, an impoverished Dorset gentleman, managed to wrangle her a position at court. She caught the eye of the Duke of York, King Charles II's younger brother, who made her his mistress. Together they had several bastard children.
Arabella convinced the Duke to find a place for her brother, John, among his retinue. The Duke did, and John in turn attracted the attentions of the king's mistress, Barbara Villiers, who bribed John's way into the court. One night, while the lovers were spending an intimate evening at what is now 10 Downing Street, the King made an unexpected appearance. To avoid what might have been an embarrassing situation, John leaped out the bedroom window. This prompted Barbara, soon after, to reward his chivalry with a £5,000 souvenir.
With this tidy sum as seed money, John eventually amassed a fortune large enough to buy Blenheim Palace. Several generations later, one of John's descendants was born in a suite off the main entry. The baby was named Winston and, years later, the very place where he was ushered into the world became a national monument bearing the family name, Churchill.
In England, not all the castles belong to the queen. DETAILS British Tourist Authority, 551 Fifth Avenue, Suite 701, New York, NY 10176-0799; 212 986-2266; Fax: 212 986-1188. Historic Royal Palaces (HRP): www.hrp.org.uk
©Andrea Rademan 2006
©2008 Andrea Rademan
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