Hampton Court Palace plan with grand apartments on a raised piano nobile, all rendered with classical detailing. The historian Jonathan Foyle has suggested that it is likely that Wolsey had been inspired by Paolo Cortese's "De Cardinalatu", a manual for cardinals that included advice on palatial architecture, published in 1510. The architectural historian Sir John Summerson asserts that the palace shows "the essence of Wolsey—the plain English churchman who nevertheless made his sovereign the arbiter of Europe and who built and furnished Hampton Court to show foreign embassies that Henry VIII's chief minister knew how to live as graciously as any cardinal in
Hampton Court Palace Flower Show staging equipment. Try to hire that sort of stuff and it costs and arm and a leg.’ Historic Royal Palaces accepted the RHS bid on condition that it undertook to keep certain staff on the payroll, including Adrian Greenoak. The venture was a risky one, with four new shows already booked for 1993. The first RHS Hampton Court Show took place in 1993, with additional sponsorship from the "Daily Mail". The Show was a considerable success, and the following year was declared to be the best outdoor public event of 1994. With a 25-acre (10 hectare) show ground, there was