Hampton Court - Photos III

- October 01, 2013

After Henry VIII died, the Tudor reign continued through his three children: Edward, Mary, and finally Elizabeth. Being the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth named her cousin, James VI of Scotland, as her heir. He became James I of England when she died. And that marked the beginning of the Stuart dynasty. James's son, Charles I, was at the heart of the English Civil War that saw Charles beheaded and the monarchy abolished. Oliver Cromwell was leader of the new commonwealth, but when he died the monarchy was reinstated with Charles's son, Charles II. When Charles died without any legitimate children, his brother became James II. James had two daughters by his first wife. He then married a Catholic and converted to Catholicism, which was a monstrous no-no at the time. When his wife gave birth to a son, the country convulsed at the idea of a Catholic dynasty. Using this as an excuse, Parliament made a pact with James's elder daughter, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange. This resulted in the Glorious Revolution in 1688, which saw James flee to France as William and Mary arrived as the new sovereigns, William III and Mary II. Of course, there is so much more to these stories, but I'm just giving you a quick overview.

William remodeled Hampton Court to suit the baroque tastes of the day. Much of Henry's apartments were demolished. The photos in today's blog are from William III's apartments. William spent £131,000 on the palace. It took several years to complete. Construction was stopped for several years when Mary died in 1694, and didn't resume until 1698. Unfortunately, William did not live long enough to enjoy his work. He died in 1702 at Kensington Palace from injuries sustained when he fell off his horse whilst riding at Hampton Court Park.

How's this for a foyer?

I've seen other displays like this in Scotland and in Whitehall Palace. I don't know the mindset behind using weapons as art like this. I will have to look it up sometime.

A closer look at one of the the pistol medallions.

As you can see, the room was very tall and grand.

I have never seen drums used in quite this way before.

This is the King's Presence Chamber. People would be presented before William here by the king's usher. They would have to remove their hats and bow low three times. They even had to do that to the empty chair! William was a small man, so he sat on a dais under a regal canopy to help set him apart and above his subjects. In the left-hand corner you can see a porcelain tower. Mary II was an avid collector of Chinese and Japanese porcelain and this spurred the "china mania" that swept over Britain.

More porcelain adorns the fireplace in the chamber. One of my first grad school classes was on the Glorious Revolution taught by Betty Furdell. My research paper for the class was on this china mania and how it helped launch the famous Staffordshire potteries. So I was quite chuffed to find porcelain in William's apartments. It was like my research came to life.

The rooms are laid out one after the other, with each one becoming more private. This next room was the king's Privy Chamber. It was no longer as private as it once was because William decreed that all ambassadorial visits would take place here. That's the original Canopy of Estate above the king's chair. It's silk with gold lace.

And look, even more porcelain! William took a personal interest in decorating his new rooms. The tapestries are some of Henry VIII's Story of Abraham tapestries. The painting is of the White Queen, Elizabeth of Bohemia, a close relative of William in the Netherlands.

This is William's withdrawing room, a more informal space where the king and his ministers and courtiers would meet and do business. Today's drawing room comes from the original withdrawing room, which became popular for social occasions with William's successors.

This is a painting of Charles I, who was William's ancestor (as well as Mary's grandfather - good ole royal in-breeding).

The king's bedchamber was open to only his closest and most-trusted courtiers. William had two. This one, the Great Bedchamber, and the Little Bedchamber next door. He made these the most lavish rooms in the new apartments. William filled both rooms with mementos of his late wife, which is why these rooms have so much more porcelain.