King Charles’s owns one beautiful palace that no royal has lived in for over 250 years. Hampton Court Palace is located in East Molesey, Surrey, which is around 12 miles south west of Central London. It is owned by the King “in Right of Crown”, meaning that he holds it in trust for the next monarch – but cannot sell it.
It was a key royal residence from the reign of King Henry VIII – who was gifted the residence by his favourite Cardinal Thomas Wolsey – until the death of King George II in 1760. King George III later refused to live in the residence after he had a painful childhood there.
The stunning building boasts an incredible 241 chimneys, 1390 rooms, five internal courtyards – as well as a floor area of 47,330 square metres. The bulding – which is also surrounded by 60 acres of formal gardens and a further 750 of exquisite parkland – was built to be as lavish as possible.
The palace held some unhappy memories for King Henry VIII, including it being where his third wife, Jane Seymour died. Henry’s fifth wife, Catherine Howard was arrested at the palace and later executed at the Tower of London for adultery and treason.
After being opened to the public in 1838 by Queen Victoria, the palace has attracted many visitors per year.
As well as being open to the public, the palace has been used a filming location for many well-known films and television shows such as Netflix’s Bridgerton, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and The Young Victoria.
It was also used as a filming locations in The Theory of Everything and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!.
