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
Hampton Court Stakes three of Royal Ascot in 2002, when the meeting was extended to five days to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. That year's running was registered as the New Stakes, but for the Royal meeting it was renamed the Hampton Court Stakes. The extension of Royal Ascot was initially intended to be for one year only, but the extra day was retained thereafter. The race was now regularly titled the Hampton Court Stakes, named after Hampton Court, a royal residence of the Tudor period. The event was promoted to Group 3 level and renamed the Tercentenary Stakes in