Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the borough of Richmond upon Thames, south west and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Building of the palace began in 1515 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII. In 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the cardinal gave the palace to the King to check his disgrace; Henry VIII later enlarged it. Along with St James's Palace, it is one of only two surviving palaces out of the many owned by King Henry VIII. In the following century, King William III's massive rebuilding
Portrait of Henry VIII Portrait of Henry VIII Portrait of Henry VIII is a lost work by Hans Holbein the Younger depicting Henry VIII. It was destroyed by fire in 1698, but is still well known through many copies. It is one of the most iconic images of Henry and is one of the most famous portraits of any British monarch. It was originally created in 1536–1537 as part of a mural showing the Tudor dynasty at the Palace of Whitehall, London. Hans Holbein the Younger, originally from Germany, had been appointed the English King's Painter in 1536. The portrait was created to adorn