Chapel Royal

Outstandingly rich, colourful and layered with history, the chapel's vaulted ceiling was installed by Henry VIII in the 1530s and is the grand culmination of Tudor opulence at Hampton Court.

In 1710, Queen Anne commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to remodel the interior of the chapel.

The royal family would never sit in the main body of the church. Kings and queens always used a private pew on first-floor level which looks down upon the main body of the chapel. Today, a single central room, like a box at an opera, is reserved for the monarch.

Catherine Howard and the Accusations of Adultery

It was here in the chapel, in 1540, that Archbishop Cranmer handed Henry VIII a letter outlining various accusations against the King’s new wife, Catherine Howard.

Catherine was accused of unchaste behaviour before her marriage. Henry VIII had been besotted with his young wife, which is why he turned against her all the more viciously. Catherine was executed at the Tower of London soon afterwards.