I finally got a few minutes to myself to go through my photos from this year’s Anne Boleyn Experience Tour and thought that I’d share them here for you to enjoy.
If I had to narrow it down and pick my top two favourite things about this tour (I have so many favourite things!), I’d have to say:
Staying at Hever Castle – So many ‘pinch me’ moments for an Anne Boleyn fan like me!
‘Talking Tudor’ to people who are just as obsessed with Tudor history as I am. To actually see their eyes light up with excitement rather than glaze over with boredom is a beautiful thing.
I hope you enjoy these photos!
Day 1 – Off to Hever Castle
On the coach to Hever
Dinner in the Astor Wing
Gareth Russell talking about Anne Boleyn
Me and the wonderful Gareth Russell
Day 2 – Hever Castle exterior and the gardens
The Hever swans and cygnets
Hever Castle
A view of the Astor Wing
Hever Castle
Hever Castle gardens
Looking back at the castle
Hever Castle gardens
Hever Castle gardens
Hever Castle gardens
Hever Castle gardens
The loggia terrace
The lake from the loggia
Map of the grounds
Hever Castle gardens
Hever Castle gardens
Hever Castle gardens
Hever Castle gardens
Hever Castle
Hever Castle gardens
Hever Castle
Hever Castle
St Peter’s Church, Hever
St Peter’s Church, Hever
Margaret Cheyne’s brass memorial
Thomas Boleyn’s brass memorial
Thomas Boleyn’s brass memorial
Thomas Boleyn’s brass memorial
Brass cross memorial to Henry Boleyn, brother of Anne Boleyn
Talk from Bess Chilver on Tudor Costume
Bess
Bess’s husband, Edmund gets dressed as Henry VIII
Katie being dressed as a Tudor lady (Henry VIII’s reign)
Rebecca being dressed in an Elizabethan costume
Even Tudor ladies need to check their social media
Private evening tour of Hever Castle<
A dip before the tour in the private pool
We meet up in the music room
In the music room
Henry VIII welcomes us
Henry and Anne
Recognise these windows from “Anne of the Thousand Days”?
Inner courtyard
Anne Boleyn
An unknown woman said to be Mary Boleyn
Henry VIII
Edward VI
Philip II of Spain
Inner Hall
Inner Hall
Henry VII
Inner Hall
Replica of the clock said to have been given by Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn
Inner Hall
Elizabeth of Valois
Castle dining room
Tapestry in dining room
Dining room
The Henry VIII lock
The minstrels’ gallery in the dining room
The library
The library
The morning room
Anne Boleyn
The Anne Boleyn Bedroom
Anne Boleyn’s book of hours
Anne Boleyn’s book of hours
Tapestry depicting the marriage of Louis XII and Mary Tudor
James Butler, the man Anne was due to marry at one time.
Anne Boleyn
Jane Seymour
Anne of Cleves
Henry VIII
Labelled Catherine Howard, but more likely to be Elizabeth Seymour (Cromwell)
Labelled Catherine Parr but more likely to be Catherine of Aragon
Prince Arthur and Henry VII
Henry IV
Catherine of Aragon
The Queen’s Chamber
Anne of Cleves
Thomas Wyatt
Mary I
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I
Edward VI
The Waldegrave Room
Henry VIII’s Bedchamber
A secret chapel
A secret chapel
Embroidery
Margaret Beaufort
Elizabeth of York
Henry VIII
William Warham
The Long Gallery
The Long Gallery
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey
Henry VIII and his six wives
Archbishop Thomas Cranmer
Pope Clement VII
The long gallery
A transcript of the “Tower” letter said to have been written by Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Sir Thomas More and Bishop Fisher
Sir Thomas More
The long gallery
The long gallery
George Boleyn’s signature
William Waldorf Astor
The Astor Suite
John Jacob Astor
Display of torture and execution implements
Portcullis weights
Luckily not our toilet!
Lady Catherine Grey and her son, Edward Seymour
Hampton Court Palace
The approach to Hampton Court Palace
Philippa chatting to Siobhan, our costumed guide
Siobhan
Clock Court
Clock Court
Clock Court
The Anne Boleyn Experience 2018 group
The Anne Boleyn Experience 2018 group
Anne Boleyn’s gateway
Anne Boleyn’s gateway
Anne Boleyn’s gateway
The Great Hall
The Great Hall
The Great Hall
The Great Hall
The Great Hall
The Great Hall
The Great Hall
The Great Hall
Mounted deer antlers in the State Apartments of Henry VIII
Henry VIII’s presence chamber
Henry VIII’s presence chamber
Henry VIII’s presence chamber
Ceiling of Henry VIII’s presence chamber
Some of the original arms on the ceiling
Henry VIII’s presence chamber
Jane Seymour
Henry VIII
Henry VIII
Charles V and Francis I
The Haunted Gallery
Henry VII, Elizabeth of York and Margaret Beaufort
The Family of Henry VIII
Detail of Princess Mary (Mary I) and Jane the Fool
Detail of Prince Edward (Edward VI), Henry VIII and Jane Seymour
Princess Detail of Elizabeth (Elizabeth I)
Princess Detail of Elizabeth (Elizabeth I)
Princess Detail of Elizabeth (Elizabeth I)
Edward VI
Edward VI
Chapel Court Garden with all its heraldic beasts
Chapel Court Garden with all its heraldic beasts
Chapel Court Garden with all its heraldic beasts
Chapel Court Garden with all its heraldic beasts
This the nursery block where Edward VI was cared for (middle windows I think!)
Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon
The Family of King Henry VII (shown with God and St George)
Margaret of Austria
The embarkation of Henry VIII at Dover to go to the Field of Cloth of Gold
Field of Cloth of Gold
Detail of Henry VIII
Detail
A man being sick in the Field of Cloth of Gold painting!
Linen fold panelling
List of Catherine of Aragon’s babies
Fireplace
Anne Boleyn
Henry VIII
Catherine of Aragon
The palace
Miscellaneous
I was so excited to see my books in Hever Castle bookshop!
My colouring book too!
This was my favourite breakfast choice – halloumi and avocado on a toasted muffin
Pimms o’clock – a quick lunch at the Garden Restaurant, Hever
13 thoughts on “Claire’s photos from The Anne Boleyn Experience 2018”
So, you say you shared SOME of your photos? Thank you so much. This really looks like a lot of fun and I would love to do but just don’t have the time. I will continue to live vicariously through your site and pics.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! The photos are so wonderful! It almost had me feeling like I was there. My dream is to visit Hever the next time I’m in England… I just need to find someone to go with me!a
Thank you s much for posting! Wonderful for those of us who will probably never get there! Anne was my great-great-great cousin. Hampton court is ok but perhaps Jane seymours portrait should not hang in Hever Castle.
Don’t know how much of Hampton Court you’ve explored – but I’ve never heard it described as ‘ok’ before. It’s possibly the most fascinating Tudor delight in the World. Totally agree about Seymour’s portrait. A question: how do you know about your relationship with Anne and by Anne I’m presuming you mean Anne Boleyn? 1. you don’t have ‘great-great-great cousins’, only 1st cousin, 2nd cousin, 1st cousin once removed, etc etc. 2. in an average year there may be 3 – 4 generations maybe 5 if people don’t live all that long, so in 500 years since Anne’s birth there would have been at least 15-20 generations. 3. from my quick researches if you are an extremely distant cousin then you would be an extremely distant cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.
I really enjoyed the pictures. Thank you for sharing them. I was fortunate enough to go to Hampton Court 3 years ago when I was in London. Loved it!!! I’m from the USA.
It all looks fabulous and reminds me of a trip to Hever I made many years ago, the dummies in the gallery depicting scenes from Anne’s life I recall and thinking how spooky it would be at night, the photo of the replica clock shows the extravagant gifts Henry wooed his sweetheart with, clocks in the 16th c were expensive articles and a rarity so that one must have cost him a fortune, we have Lord Astor to thank for the magnificence of Hever today including the little village he had erected, Anne’s book of hours is exquisite and it’s easy ti imagine her sitting in a window seat reading the pages with an earnest expression on her face, I’m so glad Hever was not left to crumble and decay as with this enchanting building we have a link to Anne and her tragic story, thankyou for sharing the photos with us Claire well done.
Great to see photos of Hever Castle and also to see that it hasn’t altered since I was last there. Two years ago my whole family (all 9 of us spanning 3 generations) celebrated my husband’s 70th with a long weekend at Hampton Court and these two wonderful buildings vie to be my favourite place on Earth! My love affair with Anne Boleyn goes way back and my wedding gown and headdress in 1973 was based on Anne’s in the Anne of the Thousand Days film. Six years ago our son married at the Layer Marney Tudor Gatehouse and we were entertained by an amazing mediaeval musician who played the lute and the hurdy-gurdy. I’m so pleased that you had such a terrific Tudor time. For those of you interested in language – you will all know that Tudor was a Welsh family name; you may not be aware that in Welsh ‘u’ is pronounced as ‘i’. So the great royals were not Tudors, but TIDIRS!
I finally got a few minutes to myself to go through my photos from this year’s Anne Boleyn Experience Tour and thought that I’d share them here for you to enjoy. 
So, you say you shared SOME of your photos? Thank you so much. This really looks like a lot of fun and I would love to do but just don’t have the time. I will continue to live vicariously through your site and pics.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! The photos are so wonderful! It almost had me feeling like I was there. My dream is to visit Hever the next time I’m in England… I just need to find someone to go with me!a
Thanks, These are awesome! Wow, what a trip!
Thank you s much for posting! Wonderful for those of us who will probably never get there! Anne was my great-great-great cousin. Hampton court is ok but perhaps Jane seymours portrait should not hang in Hever Castle.
Don’t know how much of Hampton Court you’ve explored – but I’ve never heard it described as ‘ok’ before. It’s possibly the most fascinating Tudor delight in the World. Totally agree about Seymour’s portrait. A question: how do you know about your relationship with Anne and by Anne I’m presuming you mean Anne Boleyn? 1. you don’t have ‘great-great-great cousins’, only 1st cousin, 2nd cousin, 1st cousin once removed, etc etc. 2. in an average year there may be 3 – 4 generations maybe 5 if people don’t live all that long, so in 500 years since Anne’s birth there would have been at least 15-20 generations. 3. from my quick researches if you are an extremely distant cousin then you would be an extremely distant cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.
I really enjoyed the pictures. Thank you for sharing them. I was fortunate enough to go to Hampton Court 3 years ago when I was in London. Loved it!!! I’m from the USA.
Thanks so much for sharing, Claire! What a fabulous trip!
It all looks fabulous and reminds me of a trip to Hever I made many years ago, the dummies in the gallery depicting scenes from Anne’s life I recall and thinking how spooky it would be at night, the photo of the replica clock shows the extravagant gifts Henry wooed his sweetheart with, clocks in the 16th c were expensive articles and a rarity so that one must have cost him a fortune, we have Lord Astor to thank for the magnificence of Hever today including the little village he had erected, Anne’s book of hours is exquisite and it’s easy ti imagine her sitting in a window seat reading the pages with an earnest expression on her face, I’m so glad Hever was not left to crumble and decay as with this enchanting building we have a link to Anne and her tragic story, thankyou for sharing the photos with us Claire well done.
Thank you so much
Great to see photos of Hever Castle and also to see that it hasn’t altered since I was last there. Two years ago my whole family (all 9 of us spanning 3 generations) celebrated my husband’s 70th with a long weekend at Hampton Court and these two wonderful buildings vie to be my favourite place on Earth! My love affair with Anne Boleyn goes way back and my wedding gown and headdress in 1973 was based on Anne’s in the Anne of the Thousand Days film. Six years ago our son married at the Layer Marney Tudor Gatehouse and we were entertained by an amazing mediaeval musician who played the lute and the hurdy-gurdy. I’m so pleased that you had such a terrific Tudor time. For those of you interested in language – you will all know that Tudor was a Welsh family name; you may not be aware that in Welsh ‘u’ is pronounced as ‘i’. So the great royals were not Tudors, but TIDIRS!
Wonderful. Beautiful and excellent photographs. Many thanks.
How is everyone coping with the heat? It’s 34 where I am.
Thank you so much for posting! Wonderful pictures! Hever and Hampton Court are on my bucket list!