Happy International Women’s Day! To celebrate, we’ve taken a dive into the Hampton Court Palace archives to rediscover three women in three different centuries who you may not have heard of, but who through their work at Hampton Court each made important contributions to the palace.  1500s: Anne Harris ? In the overwhelmingly male-dominated work environment which was the Tudor court of Henry VIII, there was only one department of the King’s household where you could find permanent female members of staff: the Royal Laundry. While we can still explore the vast Tudor kitchens, sadly the pa ..read more

It’s Mothering Sunday on the 22 March and as usual at Hampton Court Palace we will be celebrating by opening the whole of the King’s Apartments to a team of dedicated flowers arrangers from the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies (NAFAS). Florimania is here again, a well-loved event now in its 23rd year. In early March this year, it seemed that winter would never end, although nature was doing her best in the gardens, with daffodils and other flowers coming out early. However, the best sign that spring is finally there, will be Florimania, when Hampton Court Palace is overru ..read more

Throughout our sites’ 1,000 years of history, countless great women have played a part in making the palaces what they are today, from Mary II’s avid plant collecting at Hampton Court to Princess Elizabeth, daughter of George III, who decorated Kew Palace in the colours we see today. This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating some of the great women who still play a crucial role in the life and upkeep of the palaces. While there are of course too many roles to profile in this blog, we spoke to a few colleagues working in a variety of cool jobs across the palaces. Let’s meet the team. AJ ..read more

In this Outliers blog series, we’ve been uncovering the true history that inspired our podcasts’ compelling stories. If you haven’t listened already, Outliers is a history fiction podcast that tells stories from the perspective of those on the edges of historical events. In this final episode, For King and Country, we heard the story of the Black Watch Mutiny.  Samuel McPherson, one of three Black Watch soldiers shot at the Tower of London on 19 July 1743 after being found guilty of mutiny. Image courtesy of the National Army Museum, London   In 1743 three so ..read more

In this Outliers blog series, we’re uncovering the true history that inspired our podcasts’ compelling stories. If you haven’t listened already, Outliers is a history fiction podcast that tells stories from the perspective of those on the edges of historical events. In this week’s episode, Fresh Sweat and Cloves, we heard the story of Bess Raleigh. Portrait of a Lady (said to be Elizabeth Throckmorton), Robert Peake (c.1551–1619) © Maldon Town Council As lady-in-waiting to an ageing queen and wife to a failed adventurer, Bess Raleigh learnt to fight her corner against all adversity. Bess riske ..read more

Season Two of HRP’s Outliers podcast is here – our history fiction podcast that tells stories from the perspective of those standing in the shadows of historical events. In this Outliers blog series, we’re uncovering the true history that inspired our podcasts’ compelling stories. In this week’s episode of Outliers, Seal of Fate, we heard the story of a spy and codebreaker for Elizabeth I. Sir Francis Walsingham by unknown artist. Oil on panel, circa 1585 NPG 1704 © National Portrait Gallery, London In this episode, Thomas Phelippes plots the downfall of Mary Queen of Scots. As Phelippes strug ..read more

Season Two of HRP’s Outliers podcast is here – our history fiction podcast that tells stories from the perspective of those standing in the shadows of historical events. In this Outliers blog series, we’re uncovering the true history that inspired our podcasts’ stories. In this week’s episode, The Letters of 1867, we hear the story of Lady Alice Hill, a young woman who grew up in Hillsborough Castle, Northern Ireland during the reign of Queen Victoria. Alice Maria (née Hill), Countess of Bective by Camille Silvy, albumen print, 1860, NPG Ax50375 © National Portrait Gallery, London This story i ..read more

Season Two of HRP’s Outliers podcast is here – our history fiction podcast that tells stories from the perspective of those standing in the shadows of historical events. In this Outliers blog series, we’re uncovering the true history that inspired our podcasts’ compelling stories. In this week’s episode of Outliers, Scullion Daydreams, we heard the story of Robert, the young kitchen boy who worked in Hampton Court Palace’s kitchens during the reign of Mary I. The Great Kitchen at Hampton Court Palace. The kitchen complex at Hampton Court is the most extensive surviving royal Tudor kitchen rang ..read more

Outliers is a historical fiction podcast, telling stories from the shadows of history. In this Outliers blog series, we’re uncovering the true history that inspired our podcasts’ stories. This week’s episode, Empty Barrels, is set in the reign of Henry VIII and the reformation is in full swing. We hear about a royal clerk, Robert, who is apathetic to the religious changes around him. Robert is surrounded by the evidence of the dissolution of the monasteries in his job. When some treasures are confiscated from a monastery near to where he grew up, Robert makes a snap decision to act. He po ..read more

Season Two of HRP’s Outliers podcast is here – our history fiction podcast that tells stories from the perspective of those standing in the shadows of historical events. In this Outliers blog series, we’re uncovering the true history that inspired our podcasts’ compelling stories.   Sir William Herschel and Caroline Herschel. Colour lithograph by A. Diethe, ca. 1896 © Wellcome Collection In this week’s episode, Pinpricks of Light, we hear the story of Caroline Herschel, a German astronomer who discovered a series of comets and was the first women to be paid a salary as a scientist. C ..read more