What did the apartments of Henry VIII look like

People mostly know King Henry VIII of England from the romantic and tragic fate of Anna Boleyn and other royal spouses: they make films and series about this, write books. And according to one version, even the fairy tale "Blue Beard" is written specifically about Henry VIII. The king was really distinguished by a peculiar disposition and led an appropriate lifestyle. Recently, underground rooms were discovered in the Greenwich Palace, the birthplace of Henry VIII and the center of court life. How the royal lady had fun in the 16th century.

Center for British History

In the Greenwich Palace, the entourage of Henry VIII had a great time. There was a banquet hall for extravagant holidays, stables for many royal horses, dog kennels, tennis courts and even cockerel arenas - a bloody sport, especially beloved by the daughter of Henry VIII Elizabeth I.

When the monarch was in the residence, he was accompanied by hundreds of courtiers, servants, soldiers, poets, playwrights, diplomats, foreign dignitaries, clergy and courtiers. There were noisy ceremonies, celebrations, carnivals, intrigues, in a word, everything that we love for historical films and novels happened. The Greenwich Palace was the center of British history and one of the central palaces of the Tudor courtyard, a family that ruled England, Ireland and the Principality of Wales from 1485 to 1603.

Rooms for courtiers or bees

It was in this historic palace under the modern floor that two underground rooms were discovered. One of them has preserved floor with glazed Flemish tiles, and the other is a vaulted cellar with a brick floor. In these rooms, perhaps, several of the many courtiers of Henry VIII lived.

They could also be part of a nearby monastery church. Since the vaulted cellar has a low ceiling and recesses in the walls, the researchers believe that this room may have been used as a storehouse. Closed baskets could be stored in niches in the wall, in which bees were kept in winter to protect them from severe weather.

After the fall of the Tudor house during the Civil War in the 17th century, the Greenwich Palace was used as a biscuit factory, and then as a camp for Dutch prisoners of war. Then the buildings were demolished in parts and in the 1690s they were replaced by the Royal Sailors Hospital. In the same buildings is now the Old Royal Naval College.