2009 marks the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s accession to the throne.
To honour the occasion, Historic Royal Palaces, along with Kingston University London and Oxford Brookes University, hosted a three-day international conference at Hampton Court Palace on 13 – 15 July 2009.
The conference was interdisciplinary, drawing on history, literature, music, art, textiles, architecture and theology. It focused particularly on the fashioning of Henry VIII’s court, including the occasion and material culture of the Tudor court (particularly relating to Hampton Court Palace), the European context of Henry VIII’s reign, biography, and image, whilst also situating Henry as the sacral monarch around whom it all revolved, and honouring his continuing legacy.
The conference featured the following keynote speakers:
- Prof. G.W. Bernard (Professor of Early Modern History, University of Southampton)
- Dr Susan Brigden (Reader in History, Lincoln College, Oxford)
- Prof. Eamon Duffy (Professor of the History of Christianity, Magdalene College, Cambridge
- Dr Maria Hayward (Reader in Early Modern History, University of Southampton)
- Prof. Greg Walker (Masson Professor of English Literature, University of Edinburgh)
- Dr David Starkey, CBE
It also included a roundtable on image and iconography led by Prof. Dale Hoak (Chancellor Professor of History, The College of William and Mary, Virginia) with Prof. John N. King (Professor of English and Religious Studies, (Ohio State University), Dr Tatiana String (Lecturer in the History of Art, Bristol University) and Dr Tarnya Cooper (Sixteenth Century Curator, National Portrait Gallery).
You can view the full conference programme here.
