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Historic Royal Palaces blog

Insights and behind the scenes from our palaces

Triumph and tragedy: Thomas Cromwell's legacy at the Tower of London

06 December 2024

For Thomas Cromwell, hero of Wolf Hall, the Tower of London would be the scene of the start of his career and the end of his life. Here, Chief Historian Tracy Borman explores the Tower through the lens of Thomas Cromwell's rise and fall.

Thomas Cromwell's fateful match-making

29 November 2024

Tracy Borman explores the real history behind Thomas Cromwell's downfall, which forms the dramatic conclusion to Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light.

Protecting wildlife and their habitat at Home Park

22 November 2024

Park Ranger Eleanor Evetts explores the importance of nature conservation efforts at Home Park at Hampton Court Palace.

The History of the Abraham Tapestries at Hampton Court

15 November 2024

Tudor tapestries were the epitome of cultural sophistication and a symbol of the lucky owner’s accomplishments and values: highly coloured, glittering expositions of magnificence and success. Here, Curator Brett Dolman explores how the 'Abraham' tapestries came to be at Hampton Court, and their meaning to those who gazed upon them in the 16th century.

'Buried Among Kings': Hampton Court and the Coffin of the Unknown Warrior

11 November 2024

On 11 November 1920 the Unknown Warrior was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey, in a coffin said to have been made of Hampton Court oak. Here, Assistant Curator Minette Butler investigates this curious palace story, including an unexpected link to the Tower of London.

Things are looking up! Conserving our upper outer valances of Queen Caroline's state bed

08 November 2024

Work on Queen Caroline’s State Bed, which we care for on behalf of the Royal Collection Trust, continues in the Conservation Studio at Hampton Court Palace. We have now moved up to the top of the bed with the upper outer valances.

Jane Boleyn, Lady Rochford: The Most Hated Woman in Tudor England?

01 November 2024

Tracy Borman investigates whether Jane Boleyn, widow of George Boleyn, deserves her notorious reputation, or whether the hostile accounts of her a product of Elizabeth I's later attempts to rehabilitate her mother.

The Jewel House Keeper's Ghost

31 October 2024

Curator Alden Gregory explores one of the many ghost stories associated with the palaces in our care: the Tower of London's Phantom Bear.

The Extraordinary Life and Death of Lady Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury

25 October 2024

On 27 May 1541, Lady Margaret Pole – another victim of Henry VIII’s increasingly bloody regime – was led to her execution inside the Tower. But Margaret was no scheming minister or prisoner of conscience. She was a 67-year-old woman who had spent her life serving the Tudors.

Conserving Henry VIII's Abraham Tapestries

18 October 2024

Textile Treatment Conservator Alice Young introduces a new major project at Historic Royal Palaces, to keep the Abraham tapestries looking their best for future generations.