Hampton Court Palace railway station which is immediately to the south of Hampton Court Bridge in East Molesey, and by London bus routes 111, 216, 411 and R68. 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
Thomas Wolsey Wolsey to the post of Almoner, a position that gave him a seat on the Privy Council and gave him an opportunity for greater prominence and for establishing a personal rapport with the King. A factor in Wolsey's rise was the young Henry VIII's relative lack of interest in the details of government during his early years. The primary counsellors whom King Henry VIII inherited from his father were Richard Foxe ( 1448–1528, Bishop of Winchester 1501–1528) and William Warham ( 1450–1532, Archbishop of Canterbury 1503–1532). These were cautious and conservative, advising the King to act as a careful administrator