MsSquirrly

Hever Castle - the most perfect little castle with a moat, a portcullis,
a drawbridge, a maze & a courtyard. In the spring there are a multitude of
daffodils all around and the most beautiful Italian gardens.
There is a Tudor village nearby & annual enactments. Banquets & weddings.
Inside you can see Anne's prayer book which she held before her execution.
There is also a small hidden room for private worship of the heretical religion.

The courtyard inside Hever Castle
where you can imagine Anne looking down from
the window to see King Henry VIII & his retinue ride
in on the cobblestones below.

Holyrood Palace, in Edinburgh Scotland.
The thing that stood out in my memory was the small circular
stair case which joined Mary, Queen of Scots rooms with the one
below where the murderers climbed to enter her bedroom (below)
and murder her musician/secretary David Rizzio.
When I saw it, you could still discern a mark on the floor
of her bedroom supposed to be a blood stain.

The Tower of London - of course it felt strange to be near
that scaffold site & the small chapel where Anne & others
are buried & know what happened there.

Hatfield House - where Elizabeth I learned she was Queen.
When I first saw it there was an old (basically dead) oak tree
held up by metal posts supposed to be the actual tree
she was sitting under when she heard the news.
Queen Elizabeth II has since replaced the oak tree with a new one.

Westminster Abbey
(burial place of Kings & Queens and Coronation Church)
above is the Stone of Scone Coronation Chair
which dates back to the 13th century. The stone has since
been sent back to Scotland - it was still there when I went.
The Abbey is filled with tombs from across the centuries.
Queen Elizabeth I's tomb is a must see.

Hampton Court Palace - this is an amazing palace built by Wolsey
& given to Henry. There is a long gallery that Katherine Howard
supposedly ran along screaming to get Henry's attention and
the guide told us that there have been reports of people seeing
a ghost of a young woman running along this gallery.

The Great Hall lined with tapestries from Tudor times.

My two cats