Joust for glory or take a fun tour right till august!
Visitors to Hampton Court Palace in London will now be able to explore All Things Tudor through sporting tournaments, entertainment and food fit for kings and queens. With 2020 marking 200 years since the death of George III, visitors to Kew Palace will be able to explore the story of George III’s treatment for mental health issues in a special interpretation at the palace.
To celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Field of Cloth of Gold, the historic meeting between Henry VIII and François I of France, Hampton Court Palace is the place to be for All Things Tudor in 2020. A landmark exhibition, Gold and Glory: Henry VIII and the French King opens on April 10, 2020, focusing on the events of 1520, revealing the characters and stories behind the organisation and festivities. This exhibition will close on August 31, 2020.
From May 23-31, 2020 Hampton Court Palace provides the location for The Rematch itself. Henry VIII invites François I to visit his pleasure palace for a festival of jousting, wrestling and foot combat as well as feasting and entertainment. This is diplomacy but deadly competition. England v France!
Visitors will cheer on their chosen “team” at the sporting contests and cultural entertainments. They can wander through the encampments to sample food, explore the crafts that service the brutal competition, such as the armourer, who will be busy repairing the dents and damage from the jousts, as well as play themed games, and enjoy catch talks and presentations in the expert zone.
Jousts will be held three times a day, on all nine days. This will not be choreographed but genuine jousting contests, in which no one can predict what will happen and the winners and losers will be decided on the day. Competitions of wrestling and foot combat will take place, as well as light-hearted accounts of the two courts in a theatre tent performed by the mischievous ‘players’.
Throughout August 2020, visitors will also be able to test their Tudor sporting skills at the Great Tudor Games. Under the guardianship of royal courtiers, visitors will be able to build their knowledge and skills of traditional Tudor games including jousting and archery!
It all promises to be a visual delight with recreated tents, portable palaces, a wine fountain in full flow and a kite flying above the tournament field, this is an absolute must for group, coach and tour operators planning their 2020 brochures and itineraries. All activities will be included in admission to Hampton Court Palace. Bookings and tickets are on sale January 2020 onwards.
