Hampton Court Palace, London

Today's post is inspired by The Tudors television series. This (not entirely historically accurate) portrayal of Henry VIII and Thomas Wolsey led me to visit Hampton Court yesterday.

Wolsey spent lavishly to build the finest palace in England at Hampton Court, which he was later forced to give to Henry as he began to fall from favour.

Yesterday, after escaping from Hampton Court maze, I shot some video footage in the formal gardens (free for visitors from November to March).

View a video of Hampton Court Palace on Google Maps

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Soestdijk Palace, Netherlands

The Soestdijk Palace is one of the four official palaces of the Dutch royal family. It consists of a central block and two wings.

The palace was originally started as a hunting lodge that was built for Stadhouder William III between 1674 and 1678 by Maurits Post, who was also involved in building two other royal palaces, Huis ten Bosch Palace and Noordeinde Palace.

During the french invasion in 1795, the palace was seized as a spoil of war and turned into an inn for French troops. When Louis Bonaparte became king of Holland, he took possession of it and had it extended and refurbished.

It was presented to William II of the Netherlands in 1815 in recognition of his services at the Battle of Waterloo. In 1842 its contents were enriched by the addition of the neoclassical furnishings of his former palace in Brussels, today the Palais des Académies.

View a video of the Soestdijk Palace on Google Maps

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