Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace stands as one of England’s great royal residences, a place where Tudor ambition and Baroque grandeur meet on the banks of the Thames. Construction began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, chief minister to Henry VIII, who, after falling from favor, handed the palace to the king in 1529 to save his life. Henry then expanded it to house his large retinue, and for years it functioned as a cornerstone of royal life. In the 1690s, William III commissioned massive rebuilding and expansion intended to rival Versailles, and by 1694 the palace bore two distinct architectural styles—Tudor domesticity and Baroque spectacle—yet pink brick and symmetrical wings knit the complex into a single, recognizable silhouette. George II was the last monarch to reside here, and today the palace is cared for by Historic Royal Palaces, standing as a Grade I listed site open to visitors. …
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