Queens' Rings

All can be bought here

A Palace of Queens

Yet another post of Hampton Court Palace! Some of the famous six wives of Henry VIII have left their mark on this favourite palace of their husband. So, let's take a look at the reminders of Queens that has been long lost to history.

This is the ceiling of the Anne Boleyn
Gateway - the squares that surronds
the Tudor rose involves Anne's falcon

The Anne Boleyn Gateway is now named after the doomed second wife of Henry VIII but it was not the case at the time - imagine the weirdness of that! After the downfall of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII wanted to erase every memory of her and had her badges and initials removed. But a few were forgotten and today they serve as a reminder of the Queen that Henry wanted to forget. Anne's badges can still be seen at the Anne Boleyn Gateway which is also where the gateway derives its name. Also, her falcons and initials still adorns the great hammer-beams of the Great Hall's ceiling.

Jane Seymour's badge can be seen on an original frieze outside the Royal Chapel. Also the Great Watching Chamber still house references to this third wife. A phoenix rising from a castle can be seen on the ceiling of this room - the very badge of Jane.

Anne of Cleves is - despite her very short marriage - also among the wives that the castle can tell us about. In what is now a tea room a plate is displayed. This plate shows signs that it belonged to Edward VI - but the wheel of Cleves can still be seen on it. It is likely that the plate was hastily changed after the annulment of the couple's marriage.

Even Catherine of Aragon's pomegranate still remains - it hangs above a door frame, apparently forgotten.


Katherine Howard's ghost has put the "haunted" in the Haunted Gallery but since it is not a physical artifact I have chosen not to include it here.

Scandal of Christendom

One of the best known - and only known - quotes from Catherine of Aragon is regarding her jewellery. When Henry VIII asked her to surrender her jewels since they belonged to the Queen of England - a position she no longer held - the former Queen replied:

"I will not give them up to a person who is the scandal of Christendom and a disgrace to you."

It is obvious that she is referring to Anne Boleyn who was moving faster and faster towards becoming the Queen of England.

Drawings of the Queens

I have come across these beautiful drawings of Henry VIII's wives and I thought that I might share them (I have arranged them to look nicer):

A Weeping Queen

This painting shows Catherine of Aragon walking away crying while her husband (in the background) is talking - or most likely - flirting with Anne Boleyn.

Catherine of Aragon

Catherine as a widow

Catherine of Aragon was born on December 16th 1485 to the royal couple of Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. As a child she received one of the best education Europe had to offer; speaking, reading and writing Spanish and Latin and speaking French and Greek. During her upbringing she was greatly influenced by her very devout parents and was brought up believing that God had created a special destiny for her.