Hampton Court Palace

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People are fascinated by monarchy for many a reason and as the summer draws in, I love nothing more than exploring palatial gardens or the many beautiful parks in London. Most of which have historical links to royal families such as the beautiful Italian Gardens in Hyde Park or the Secret Garden in Regents park. Their perfectly manicured lawns, clipped hedges, imported trees from around the globe, their elaborate use of water around the gardens with mythological statues and pavilions all draw you in as you a explore the story revealed by the landscape artists. The perfect setting for summer picnics in colourful surroundings.

My other fascination with Palatial homes are the murals you will often find on the falls and ceilings. You often see angelic or Godly-like depictions of kings and queens as they believed to have had divine right to rule over people much like people are to obey the commands of God so too people were to live by the rule of king and queen in the same manner.  The belief that their right of rule was directly from the will of God and so were not subject to any authority on earth and that deposing of them was a sacrilegious act. This extended not only the British monarchy but that of many other countries. In Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines it was believed that the sultan was mandated by God and therefore expected to lead the people in religious matters too where its believed that the kings were "agents of God". 

In much of the world these believes have produced fascinating and captivating art the continue to tell these weird and wonderful beliefs that it does make me wonder what life would have been like living in that era. Also for someone who has no interest in the monarchy, so I am afraid I am not someone you will find in parades waiting for the queen to pass through. My mere fascination is the idolisation of them and the stories history tells us about how they lived, how they treated people and how this is depicted in art around palaces around the world whether visiting a palace in Europe, Asia or Africa. In some cases not much has changed really. We may not believe they descend directly God but their is still much interest in the royal families. 

Below are some of the pictures taken while touring Hampton Court Palace which I would definitly recommend when the weather is better in London. Some of the stories among the royal families offered a comical look at the silly disputes family members had with one another, which made for rather entertaining explorations of the royal apartments. You can pay to visit the Palace as well as the gardens or you can buy a ticket that only gives access to the gardens. The Privy Gardens which can be seen from one of the royal apartments were restored to how they would have look when William III had them commissioned 1709. Sadly the poor chap (or not so poor) died before they were completely finished but  have now been restored for us to run around enjoying these charming and beautiful gardens while chilling with a bit of Pimms and cucumber sandwiches. It's such a shame in all their divinity they couldnt have bargained for consistently better weather in the UK.

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