• A set of 10 stamps will be issued to celebrate Hampton Court Palace - one of the best-known buildings in Britain
  • Six stamps depict exterior views of the Palace and its gardens - including the world famousMaze
  • A further four stamps feature the sumptuous interiors of the Great Hall, the King's Great Bedchamber, the Chapel Royal and the King's Staircase
  • Cardinal Wolsey expanded the building into a palace in the early years of Henry VIII's reign. Henry later took the Palace for himself
  • Sir Christopher Wren was commissioned to rebuild the Palace in the Baroque style by William III and Mary II
  • In 1838, the young Queen Victoria gave the Palace to the nation and ordered that it should be 'thrown open to all her subjects without restriction'
  • Hampton Court Palace has ranked among the top British historic attractions for almost two centuries
  • Royal Mail worked with historian, Lucy Worsley on the stamp issue
  • The stamps and souvenir products can be pre-ordered now from www.royalmail.com/hamptoncourtpalace and are available from 7,000 Post Offices nationwide from 31 July 2018

Royal Mail is to celebrate the splendour of Hampton Court Palace with the launch of 10 Special Stamps.

Six stamps will depict exterior views of the Palace and its gardens, with a further four stamps featuring the Great Hall, the King's Great Bedchamber, the Chapel Royal and the King's Staircase.

The Palace is one of the best-known buildings in Britain and one of the grandest. Ranked among the top British historic attractions for almost two centuries, the Palace is inextricably linked to the Tudor king Henry VIII, one of England's most famous monarchs.

Originally a large house, Cardinal Wolsey expanded the building into the Palace in the early years of Henry VIII's reign. Henry later took Hampton Court for himself.

Sir Christopher Wren was commissioned to rebuild the Palace in the Baroque style by William III and Mary II.

The last British king to use Hampton Court regularly was George II. He also had lodgings made for his son, the Duke of Cumberland, in 1732, which would be the last-ever rooms made for a member of the royal family at Hampton Court Palace.

When George II died in 1760, his successors preferred to use other royal residences such as Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle. The Palace was split up into numerous apartments, which were then given, by the 'grace and favour' of the monarch, as rent-free residences to various retired court officials, admirals and diplomats.

In 1838, the young Queen Victoria, gave the Palace to the nation and ordered that it should be 'thrown open to all her subjects without restriction'.

This made it, essentially, into the visitor attraction that it remains today.

One of the most popular attractions for visitors to Hampton Court is the world-famous Maze. It is just one surviving part of the Palace's extensive Baroque gardens.

Philip Parker, Royal Mail, said: 'Hampton Court Palace is one of the most famous and magnificent of all Royal Palaces. Our new stamps celebrate the grandeur of its architecture and the stunning gardens with its world famous maze'.

The stamps and souvenir products can be pre-ordered now from www.royalmail.com/hamptoncourtpalace and available from 7,000 Post Offices nationwide from 31 July 2018.

Ends

ISSUED BY:

Royal Mail Press Office on 13 July 2018

Natasha Ayivor
100 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0HQ
Tel: 02074498250
Email: natasha.ayivor@royalmail.com
www.royalmail.com/stamps

Notes to Editors:

Stamps in detail:

Hampton Court Palace - South Front

Built for William III and Mary II by Sir Christopher Wren, the South Front overlooks the Privy Garden.

Hampton Court Palace - West Front

The grand Tudor architecture of Wolsey's Great Gatehouse is a notable feature of the West Front.

Hampton Court Palace - East Front

Designed in the same Baroque style as the South Front, the East Front overlooks the Great Fountain Garden.

Hampton Court Palace - Pond Gardens

The pools in these gardens originally held freshwater fish, such as carp, which were eaten at Tudor banquets.

Hampton Court Palace - Maze

Hampton Court Palace's Maze was planted in the late 17th century and is the world's oldest hedge maze.

Hampton Court Palace - Great Fountain Garden

This ornate garden was simplified by Queen Anne, who was keen to reduce expenditure on the royal gardens.

Hampton Court Palace - Great Hall

The enormous Great Hall was a communal eating-place for the Tudor court and the setting for parties, and also the staging of plays by William Shakespeare, performed for James I. Rebuilt in 1532 and featuring a hammer-beam roof whose design was chosen to symbolise royalty, antiquity and chivalry, this vast hall conveys ideals of medieval hospitality. The priceless tapestries telling 'The Story of Abraham' were specially made to fit during Henry VIII's reign.

Hampton Court Palace - King's Great Bedchamber

Principally a ceremonial room, the King's Great Bedchamber was rarely used for sleeping in, but often for welcoming and impressing visitors. William III had a gilded railing installed to keep his guests back from his magnificent red, velvet bed, which was positioned under a painted ceiling by Antonio Verrio. The ornate woodwork throughout the room was crafted by Grinling Gibbons, Master Carver to the Crown.

Hampton Court Palace - Chapel Royal

Henry VIII took over Cardinal Wolsey's Chapel at Hampton Court and transformed it during his great rebuilding of the palace in 1535-6. The remarkable blue and gold vaulted ceiling, decorated with carved and gilded pendants, was made at Sonning in Berkshire and transported to Hampton Court by barge. The ceiling is best seen from the elevated balcony from which the King and Queen worshipped, raised up above the main body of the congregation.

Hampton Court Palace - King's Staircase

The King's Staircase was the official route into the King's Apartments, although intimate friends of the monarch would be invited up the smaller and less public backstairs used by the servants instead. The spectacular Baroque wall and ceiling paintings by the Italian artist Antonio Verrio contained coded messages about the power and the knowledge of William III, who built this room to rival the opulence of Versailles, home to the French king Louis XIV.

About Royal Mail Special Stamps
For more than 50 years, Royal Mail's Special Stamp programme has commemorated anniversaries and celebrated events relevant to UK heritage and life. Today, there are an estimated 2.5 million stamp collectors and gift givers in the UK and millions worldwide. Her Majesty The Queen approves all UK stamp designs before they are issued.

About Royal Mail plc

Royal Mail plc is the parent company of Royal Mail Group Limited, the leading provider of postal and delivery services in the UK and the UK's designated universal postal service provider. UK Parcels, International and Letters ('UKPIL') comprises the company's UK and international parcels and letters delivery businesses operating under the 'Royal Mail' and 'Parcelforce Worldwide' brands. Through the Royal Mail Core Network, the company delivers a one-price-goes-anywhere service on a range of parcels and letters products. Royal Mail has the capability to deliver to more than 29 million addresses in the UK, six days a week (excluding UK public holidays). Parcelforce Worldwide operates a separate UK network which collects and delivers express parcels. Royal Mail also owns General Logistics Systems (GLS) which operates one of the largest ground-based, deferred parcel delivery networks in Europe.

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Royal Mail plc published this content on 16 July 2018 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 16 July 2018 08:50:04 UTC