Randy mentioned that we hadn’t really BEEN anywhere (meaning truly touristy places), so we ordered a couple of tickets for the Hampton Court Palace, the well-known home of King Henry VIII. But for me, it is the home of Queen Charlotte in Bridgerton, hahaha! The Hampton Court Palace even advertises those film locations it on their own website:
Bridgerton (from Netflix fame)filming locations in the Fountain Court, Clock Court, Base Court, and the King's Stairs:
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They also filmed in the Gardens:
Also I did enjoy finding out that one of the Pirates of the Caribbean scenes from On Stranger Tides also took place there in the Base Court, as a substitute location for St. James:
Kind of like the Smithsonian enjoyed a boost in tourism after the movie Night at the Museum came out, very likely Hampton Court will as well! They have actually set up a 90 minute audio tour around the palace just to point out all of the TV and film shoot locations.
For the admission price, we got to see inside the palace plus all the gardens and maze. Parking is extra, of course.
I felt like I should be practicing my curtsey! Fortunately they actually taught us how to do that properly, before the Queen came in! (Unfortunately I left my ball gown at home.)
We arrived mid-morning, and started our tour. They provided maps, free audio guides with headphones, and they had character actors performing here and there. I was fortunate enough to have a portrait with her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I in the Clock Court.
It was a bit too chilly to ham it up too much, being about 3 degrees Celcius.
The palace is gigantic! It was made for parties, to be filled with carriages and horses in the courts, hundreds of servants making everything happen in the background. And the palace all lit up with the many many windows glowing with candles. When Henry VIII was there, dinners would be for 400 guests at a time. The menu you got would be based on your status, with the King having two meals of 40 courses each, and the servants getting a basic one course meal. I'm actually standing inside one of the large fireplaces, where they could roast a whole side of beef at once (and probably more!) Henry VIII's sample menu is here (yes, all for one meal!)
Even Henry VIII's private wine cellar is fancy! But to find out they have a whole separate kitchen just for making chocolate, which was made into a hot drink, sounded pretty fabulous.
The architectural details on the ceilings and around the rooms are each unique and showcase craftsmanship that we don't see anymore. Everything is larger than life.
They have added electricity, without messing up the structure (and thankfully, flush toilets and hot and cold running water, and warm hand dryers in the loo!) But what they didn’t add was central heating. They only had the one big fireplace in the kitchens going!
After a couple of hours going from room to room and court to court my fingers and toes were turning into little blocks of ice, so we headed back to our cottage for hot chocolate and to thaw out with the kitties.
