NEN Gallery

Wolsey had ambitious plans to turn his new country seat into a home fit for a man of his status. Soon he would become both a Cardinal and Lord Chancellor of England.
By 1528, Wolsey had fallen from favour because of his inability to secure the Pope's consent to Henry's divorce from his first wife Catherine of Aragon. He was forced to relinquish Hampton Court to the King who, within six months, began his own building operations.
For almost 200 years, Hampton Court Palace was at the centre of court life, politics and national history. Although often identified with Henry VIII, its history was influenced just as much by William III and Queen Mary II in the late 17th century.