Tells the compelling story of one of the finest palaces in Europe, situated on the banks of the River Thames southwest of London and a centre of court life in England from 1529 to 1737Celebrates one of the most visited and intriguing architectural ensembles in Britain, including the palace's original sixteenth-century buildings of Henry VIII's reign to the late seventeenth-century Baroque additions by Sir Christopher WrenIncludes full coverage of Hampton Court's famous and everpopular formal gardens, a precious survival of gardening three hundred years agoReveals the lifestyles of monarchs, mistresses and courtiers as well as life 'below stairs'In the same series as Merrell's highly popular official illustrated histories of the Tower of London and Kensington Palace