Tells the compelling story of one of the finest palaces in Europe, situated on the banks of the River Thames south-west of London and a centre of court life in England from 1529 to 1737. Celebrates one of the most visited and intriguing architectural ensembles in Britain, including the palaces original sixteenth-century buildings of Henry VIIIs reign to the late seventeenth-century Baroque additions by Sir Christopher Wren. Includes full coverage of Hampton Courts famous and ever-popular formal gardens, a precious survival of gardening three hundred years ago. Reveals the lifestyles of monarchs, mistresses and courtiers as well as life below stairs. In the same series as Merrells highly popular official illustrated histories of the Tower of London and Kensington Palace