The history of Hampton Court Palace will be retold in one evening as part of celebrations to mark its five hundredth anniversary.
Live period music and a banquet prepared in the Tudor kitchens are just some of the events being held later to mark the event.
Actors will also be performing palace stories throughout the day.
Hampton Court celebrates 500 years
BBC News
4 Aril 2015
Hampton Court was declared a palace by Henry VIII in 1530
The history of Hampton Court Palace will be retold in one evening as part of celebrations to mark its five hundredth anniversary.
Live period music and a banquet prepared in the Tudor kitchens are just some of the events being held later to mark the event.
Actors will also be performing palace stories throughout the day.
Declared a palace in 1530 by Henry VIII, the building in Richmond, London, has hosted William Shakespeare.
'Bling palace'
A banquet prepared in the Tudor kitchens is just one of the events being held later to mark the event. The Tudor kitchens at the palace are the largest in England, where 30-course feasts were prepared for Henry VIII and his guests
Rebuilt under the orders of Cardinal Wolsey in 1515, the palace also hosted the religious conference which led to the creation of the King James Bible.
Deborah Shaw, from Hampton Court Palace, said the site had always been used to make a statement.
"It was a real bling palace. It was a place to show off for... first of all for Wolsey when he started rebuilding it," she said.
"He was on the European stage as a cardinal and he had to have a place to entertain ambassadors and obviously the king, and of course the king, Henry the VIII, loved it so much that he got Wolsey to rather obligingly hand it over."
Celebrations will culminate in a party this evening where the historic palace's south facade will be lit up with animation and music displaying its 500-year history and ending with a 25-minute light show.
It is the place where Jane Seymour died, where Charles I was imprisoned and where William III suffered a fatal accident.
A five tier cake displaying centuries in the palace's history was created for the event
Hampton Court celebrates 500 years - BBC News
Live period music and a banquet prepared in the Tudor kitchens are just some of the events being held later to mark the event.
Actors will also be performing palace stories throughout the day.
Hampton Court celebrates 500 years
BBC News
4 Aril 2015
Hampton Court was declared a palace by Henry VIII in 1530
The history of Hampton Court Palace will be retold in one evening as part of celebrations to mark its five hundredth anniversary.
Live period music and a banquet prepared in the Tudor kitchens are just some of the events being held later to mark the event.
Actors will also be performing palace stories throughout the day.
Declared a palace in 1530 by Henry VIII, the building in Richmond, London, has hosted William Shakespeare.
'Bling palace'
A banquet prepared in the Tudor kitchens is just one of the events being held later to mark the event. The Tudor kitchens at the palace are the largest in England, where 30-course feasts were prepared for Henry VIII and his guests
Rebuilt under the orders of Cardinal Wolsey in 1515, the palace also hosted the religious conference which led to the creation of the King James Bible.
Deborah Shaw, from Hampton Court Palace, said the site had always been used to make a statement.
"It was a real bling palace. It was a place to show off for... first of all for Wolsey when he started rebuilding it," she said.
"He was on the European stage as a cardinal and he had to have a place to entertain ambassadors and obviously the king, and of course the king, Henry the VIII, loved it so much that he got Wolsey to rather obligingly hand it over."
Celebrations will culminate in a party this evening where the historic palace's south facade will be lit up with animation and music displaying its 500-year history and ending with a 25-minute light show.
It is the place where Jane Seymour died, where Charles I was imprisoned and where William III suffered a fatal accident.
A five tier cake displaying centuries in the palace's history was created for the event
Hampton Court celebrates 500 years - BBC News
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