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Hampton Court Palace, London for Henry VIII: heads and hearts Historic Royal Palaces
Henry VIII: heads and hearts involved 38 original projects which contributed to the permanent transformation of the Palace, including the re-presentation of Henry’s Tudor apartments, the creation of a Tudor Garden, the restoration of Base Court, the opening of Henry’s Council Chamber to the public for the first time, the lighting of one of his tapestries with its original colours and the production of new Tudor uniforms for warders.
A Henry-inspired schools programme included ‘Real Tudor Cookery’ with pupils cooking live in the newly-represented kitchens; record numbers of A-level students interrogating Mary I on her human rights record; ‘Times and Tides’ a project with the BBC and new sessions for students with special needs, which included drama, dance and puppetry within the palace. During 2009, Henry attracted 520,000 people to Hampton Court Palace and 1,850,000 to the Tower of London, which hosted a complimentary exhibition Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill. For both palaces these were the highest visitor figures for ten years and on two weekends Hampton Court Palace broke its record of the highest number of visitors ever. Some of your comments: A great project which manages to retain historical rigour even as it reaches out to the general public: relationships between the monarch and the people of London are such an interesting part of our cultural history and have relevance to both national and London identity today. The team at HCP put so much thought into initiatives that worked for so many age groups and also great ideas that were highly unusual and brought together the many historical factors of the palace. With money tighter than ever the fact they were able to try so many new things and bring them off successfully shows old buildings do not mean old ideas. Hampton Court is the place that many people relate to when they think of Britain's history. This spectacular celebration brought together the history, artefacts, and theatre in a single visit. My visit last summer was my third and my daughter's first. We enjoyed our visit and plan on many more to the UK. Hampton Court seized the opportunities presented by the anniversary year with extraordinary vigour and originality. It's a terrible cliché, but the programme of events and exhibitions really did offer something for everyone. As an adult - and one with an academic background in history - I confess that I sometimes find it rather tiresome that many cultural institutions seem to focus their outreach efforts on getting children through the door, and making the experience 'interactive' at the expense of everything else. But Hampton Court's programme was outreach at its best - varied and fascinating on many different levels, so that everyone could find something to enrich and interest them without feeling patronised or alienated. Oh - and the fireworks were fantastic. Originally from Australia, for me it's one of the few venues from the shortlist that you never tire of. The interactive displays means that it appeals to just about everyone and the wow value of the building itself surpasses all others. Stunning exhibition and experience, so much better than my last visit. It's a beautiful historical location that often lacks publicity as it's out of central London. There was a national impact - which was reflected in other media e.g. television. I have spent many a happy day in and around the Palace during my life. School visits, days out fishing on Longwater and taking my own children when they were old enough. It's a fantastic building and worthy of winning.
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The wide-ranging programme of celebratory events included the exhibition Henry’s Women, a Henry VIII Talks series, Tudor music and rock concerts. At the core of the visitor experience was the daily re-enactment of Henry VIII’s wedding to his sixth wife, Kateryn Parr, whom he married at the palace in 1543.
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