The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of History at Hampton Court
Gareth Russell (William Collins, £25)
ONE might have expected a tongue-in-cheek, rollicking ride of a book from the author of Do Let’s Have Another Drink (about the Queen Mother) and the host of a podcast entitled Single Malt History, featuring ‘demented and delightful stories from the past’. However, as a result of the 2020 covid lockdowns, Gareth Russell has compiled a serious, densely researched and fascinating portrait of Hampton Court Palace, focusing on the people who lived and loved there. His historical narrative, continental in its political scope, ranges from the Tudors to the Windsors and is informed by lively social history. This is a ‘biography’ of the palace rather than an architectural history, but the lavish décor of the successive refurbishments, described in meticulous detail, provides the backdrop to a cast of characters that both delight and appal.
Mr Russell’s torrent
