0:00:02 > 0:00:05- Gosh.- Wow, you look beautiful.
0:00:05 > 0:00:09'David Starkey and I are putting on a royal ceremony.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11I love the canopy.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Ladies and gentlemen of Hampton Court,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17this is a fantastic night to be here,
0:00:17 > 0:00:19and tonight we're going to see the palace being used
0:00:19 > 0:00:23as it was by the Tudor court.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26All of you remember the Tudors walked differently from us,
0:00:26 > 0:00:28the shoulders go back.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Get the idea?
0:00:34 > 0:00:37We're celebrating the extraordinary fact that this year,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40Hampton Court Palace, Britain's finest Tudor building,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43will be 500 years old.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47For more than two centuries this was a pleasure palace
0:00:47 > 0:00:49for the nation's monarchs.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52But when you hear the name Hampton Court,
0:00:52 > 0:00:56you inevitably think of the first king to live here, Henry VIII.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02At Hampton Court, Henry's majesty was made manifest
0:01:02 > 0:01:04through art and architecture.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08But for Henry, and indeed for Hampton Court,
0:01:08 > 0:01:13no day was more important than the 15th of October, 1537.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17The occasion was the christening of Henry's son and heir,
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Prince Edward, only three days after he had been born.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28This was the day Henry had waited for all his adult life.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32His own prestige, the cementing of the Tudor dynasty,
0:01:32 > 0:01:37the promise of stability for England, all were riding on it.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40What would it have been like
0:01:40 > 0:01:43to be present at such a momentous occasion?
0:01:43 > 0:01:47What was involved in staging such a splendid ceremony
0:01:47 > 0:01:50under the eye of the most demanding of monarchs?
0:01:51 > 0:01:54We're going to find out, with the help of a team of experts
0:01:54 > 0:01:57who will bring Tudor culture back to life.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02Lucy and I will draw on historical records.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04Come on, look at it again, what does it really resemble?
0:02:04 > 0:02:08It looks like a sort of video recording.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11And we'll study the treasures and craftsmanship
0:02:11 > 0:02:16of the Tudor era, to work out how the christening was staged.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18I think there's a real problem.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22The purpose of this structure is visibility.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25Let me explain how it works. All the spectators are here.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30We'll see how Henry rushed through a wildly ambitious rebuilding programme
0:02:30 > 0:02:35to make Hampton Court the perfect showcase for a newborn prince.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38And with a cast of nearly 100 volunteers,
0:02:38 > 0:02:43we'll restage a Tudor procession, the set-piece event
0:02:43 > 0:02:47that Hampton Court's most splendid rooms were designed for.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52This is Tudor theatre, except that it's everyday life of the court.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55Look at the gold on him, that's wonderful.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01We'll watch as the finest costume, architecture and art combine
0:03:01 > 0:03:04to bring Hampton Court to life
0:03:04 > 0:03:08in a way not seen for nearly five centuries.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12Normally as historians, we don't actually think of how things worked,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16and this is all about how they fit together.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19It shows me how much is missing from Hampton Court just as a building.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21It needs its inhabitants.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34Hampton Court, west of London, was Tudor England's most lavish building.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39I'm the chief curator here,
0:03:39 > 0:03:41so let me give you a little guided tour.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47The first thing you need to know is that Henry VIII didn't begin building the palace.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49He seized it from the man who did,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57Henry then refashioned Hampton Court as an extension of
0:03:57 > 0:04:00his own majesty and magnificence.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05And one of his most striking additions was this Great Hall.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Now you might think that if you see this every day, like I do
0:04:10 > 0:04:13because I work here, you'd get bored or jaded by it,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17but it isn't the case at all, it's still just as impressive
0:04:17 > 0:04:20to me as it was the very first time I saw it.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25The Great Hall was situated so that you had to pass through it
0:04:25 > 0:04:28to meet Henry in his state apartments.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31The purpose of the room was to overwhelm.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37But though Henry had tremendous power and authority,
0:04:37 > 0:04:42all his riches could not buy the one thing he truly wanted -
0:04:42 > 0:04:44a male heir.
0:04:46 > 0:04:52# Gloria in excelsis Deo... #
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Somewhere beneath the floor of Westminster Abbey
0:04:57 > 0:05:00lie the remains of Henry VIII's first son,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Henry, Prince of Wales.
0:05:04 > 0:05:11Born on 1st January 1511, this Henry was the New Year's Prince,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15full of the joy and promise of those first carefree years
0:05:15 > 0:05:19of the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23But the boy only lived for seven weeks.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28Thereafter it was the same, sad story
0:05:28 > 0:05:33as, in 24 years of marriage and six pregnancies at least,
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Catherine only gave Henry a single child that lived.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41And that was a daughter, Mary.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46So, perhaps, Henry came to think, there was something wrong,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49with the woman, with the marriage.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Perhaps a new wife would do the trick.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Seeking a divorce was no easy thing,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01and in order to secure the annulment of his marriage,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Henry split from the Catholic Church,
0:06:04 > 0:06:06dragging the country with him.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09One man's quest for a son and for love
0:06:09 > 0:06:13had triggered the upheaval of the English reformation.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18Henry went on to marry his second queen, Anne Boleyn,
0:06:18 > 0:06:20strong-willed and divisive.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25And when she also failed to give him a son that lived,
0:06:25 > 0:06:29perhaps it was time to look again.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Meet Jane Seymour,
0:06:37 > 0:06:39wife number three.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43And you really do feel like you're meeting her
0:06:43 > 0:06:46because of Hans Holbein's amazing ability
0:06:46 > 0:06:50to conjure up this completely realistic image.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Here she's in her late twenties.
0:06:52 > 0:06:58One contemporary described her as "not a beauty" and "rather pale".
0:06:58 > 0:07:02But there must have been something more to her than just plain Jane
0:07:02 > 0:07:05because Henry acted so decisively to get her.
0:07:05 > 0:07:11He married her only 11 days after executing her predecessor, Anne Boleyn.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Now, when I look at Jane's expression
0:07:14 > 0:07:16I find it quite mysterious.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Do you think that she looks sensible,
0:07:19 > 0:07:23or do you think she looks sinister?
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Or is there even a little a hint of flirtatiousness
0:07:26 > 0:07:28in the lowered lids?
0:07:28 > 0:07:31And perhaps this is the secret of Jane's success,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34she will be whatever you want her to be.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40So it's not surprising that when she became queen in 1536,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Jane chose an emblem that seemed to represent
0:07:43 > 0:07:45exactly what Henry most wanted.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50So David, we're looking here at Jane's personal emblem
0:07:50 > 0:07:53of the phoenix, what's your reading of that?
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Well, first of all it's a bird. Of course it's an imaginary bird...
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Are you calling Jane a bird?
0:08:01 > 0:08:04I think the debate is what species of bird she was, you know.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Anne's badge of course had also been a bird -
0:08:08 > 0:08:11hers was a very proud falcon.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13- An aggressive bird. - An aggressive bird.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15What Jane chooses is to say,
0:08:15 > 0:08:19"I am different, what I am is a phoenix."
0:08:19 > 0:08:21And the phoenix is the mythical bird
0:08:21 > 0:08:24but it is the emblem of self-sacrifice.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27It lives for 1,000 years...
0:08:27 > 0:08:29If only she had!
0:08:29 > 0:08:34..and it then dies by burning itself on a funeral pyre,
0:08:34 > 0:08:38and then from the ashes there arises a new phoenix.
0:08:38 > 0:08:44So it's a perfect model of exactly what Jane thought,
0:08:44 > 0:08:46I imagine, that Henry wanted.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Like the phoenix, symbol of renewal,
0:08:51 > 0:08:55Jane promised Henry the renewal of the Tudor dynasty,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58and, sure enough, she soon became pregnant.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03Henry was convinced that this time the baby would be a boy.
0:09:04 > 0:09:09In early May, 1537, the royal couple arrived at Hampton Court
0:09:09 > 0:09:12for their first stay as husband and wife.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18It was quite easy to get to Hampton Court from central London
0:09:18 > 0:09:20if you travelled by boat,
0:09:20 > 0:09:24and yet it was out of the city, it was less vulnerable to plague.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26And it was still grand,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29big enough for all the ceremony involved in bringing up a prince.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32So Henry ordered work to begin,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35a major remodelling of the Queen's rooms for Jane,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38and a whole new palace within a palace,
0:09:38 > 0:09:40a new suite for his hoped-for son.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45And all this was supposed to be finished in just five months.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49Imagine what Henry's builders had to say when they heard that.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59To understand what it was like for the builders at Hampton Court
0:09:59 > 0:10:03in 1537, you have to put yourself in their position.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Thanks to our conservation work,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08which never finishes at Hampton Court,
0:10:08 > 0:10:10I often do just that.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16I'm seven storeys up here. Probably best not to look down.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22And this is what the palace looked like in the summer of 1537.
0:10:22 > 0:10:23It was a building site.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Hampton Court was like a hungry monster
0:10:26 > 0:10:30devouring supplies from across the Thames Valley.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34And literally hundreds of men would have been swarming about
0:10:34 > 0:10:39over the unfinished walls - the masons, the joiners, the labourers.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42They'd all had to get used to working at breakneck speed.
0:10:42 > 0:10:47Henry used to pay them overtime, and even get them candles,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49so that they could work throughout the night.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59On the north-east corner of the palace is
0:10:59 > 0:11:04the only structure from the building work of 1537 to survive.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07And it was by far the most important,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11the set of apartments constructed for Henry and Jane's new baby.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18These lodgings were effectively a palace within a palace.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Here, the hoped-for baby prince was given a bedchamber,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25a bathroom with running water,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28a special rocking chamber where special servants called the rockers
0:11:28 > 0:11:31would have rocked him in his cradle.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35He was also to have a whole suite of formal state rooms,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38just like those of the King and the Queen.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43For Henry VIII, Hampton Court was all about showing off,
0:11:43 > 0:11:45showing off his style,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48and his magnificence, and his possessions.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53And his most precious possession of all was to be his baby boy,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56exhibited to the world in these new lodgings here,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59like a jewel in a treasure chest.
0:12:05 > 0:12:11The birth of an heir to the throne was something to trumpet as loud as possible.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16And now Hampton Court's Great Hall could fulfil its true purpose,
0:12:16 > 0:12:21as a backdrop for the celebration, as a stage for the ceremony.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26The set dressing was just as important as the room itself.
0:12:28 > 0:12:34The tapestries are an absolutely essential part of the splendour of the Great Hall.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38Tapestry's a really brilliant Tudor art form in so many ways.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41It's flexible and portable,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45so you can get it out to create scenery for special occasions.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Henry had more than 2,000 pieces of tapestry in his warehouses,
0:12:49 > 0:12:53ready to go, to be unrolled for a christening, for example.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57To us, the tapestries look kind of brown,
0:12:57 > 0:12:59but that's because they've faded,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02they would have had rich reds and bold blues,
0:13:02 > 0:13:07and they would have glinted by candlelight because they were woven with gold thread.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09And that explains the cost.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12This particular set cost as much as a battleship.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19Henry was a terribly impatient client.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25As a result, these rooms were constructed at great speed.
0:13:25 > 0:13:31The builders selected techniques and materials that could produce instant magnificence.
0:13:35 > 0:13:40The roundels decorating this ceiling display coats of arms.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Here's Jane Seymour's emblem.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49They look like they've been painstakingly carved from wood.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52But appearances can be deceptive.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57This is, in fact, a Tudor cheat.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01All of these items are made out of leather mache.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04You make this by getting leather, munching it up,
0:14:04 > 0:14:08mixing it with brick dust and glue to make a paste,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11that then you put into a mould.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Once it's set you take it out of the mould,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17then you can paint it, like this replica,
0:14:17 > 0:14:19and once it's looking nice and bright
0:14:19 > 0:14:24you can stick it up on the walls, on the ceiling of your palace.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27So it's very quick, it's very repeatable.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31You can create a sumptuous interior in a jiffy.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36You might wonder whether this isn't a bit too cheap and cheerful
0:14:36 > 0:14:41for Henry VIII, did he mind that his palaces were knocked up overnight?
0:14:41 > 0:14:45But I don't think that the Tudors were concerned about this.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48To them architecture was on a continuum
0:14:48 > 0:14:52that goes from temporary things like tents and pavilions,
0:14:52 > 0:14:56and playful little structures made for parties, to palaces.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01It's not as if they were building their palaces for centuries to come,
0:15:01 > 0:15:03they were building them for the moment,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06for the next big court occasion.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13By September, the Prince's rooms were nearly ready.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17Everyone assumed that the baby would, of course, be a boy.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21Attention now focused on the Queen's bedchamber.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26Jane had to spend the whole of the last few weeks of her pregnancy
0:15:26 > 0:15:28shut up, cooped up in there,
0:15:28 > 0:15:30whether she liked it or not.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38In the Tudor court, virtually all the King and Queen's actions
0:15:38 > 0:15:40were accompanied by ceremony.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46The rules, preserved in a collection of writings called The Royal Book,
0:15:46 > 0:15:50dictated that Jane must spend the last month of her pregnancy
0:15:50 > 0:15:52in a kind of purdah.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58No man could pass through this door.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04Even Henry was banned from her bedchamber.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08The actual bedroom still survives,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11although today we just use it as a meeting room.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15The Royal Book explains how it was decorated.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18There were tapestries, rich Arras,
0:16:18 > 0:16:20all over the ceiling and down the walls.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24And on the floor there were carpets laid over and over,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27as if they were making a sort of cocoon for the queen.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31The windows were blocked up and covered
0:16:31 > 0:16:35except for just one tiny little chink to let in light.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39The Tudors believed that this would keep out airborne diseases.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43When labour finally began it lasted for two days
0:16:43 > 0:16:45and three nights. Ouch!
0:16:45 > 0:16:48People gathered to pray for her,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51there were vigils, there was a solemn procession at St Paul's.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56And when the baby was born, Jane hardly got the chance to hold it.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00It was snatched from her and taken to those new apartments.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04But Jane was triumphant.
0:17:04 > 0:17:05It was a boy.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Edward was born at two o'clock in the morning
0:17:14 > 0:17:17on the 12th of October, 1537.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22His arrival was greeted with national rejoicing.
0:17:22 > 0:17:27Hymns of thanksgiving were sung in all the parish churches of London.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30The church bells rang out.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35The celebrations continued far into the night,
0:17:35 > 0:17:39with street bonfires and lashings of free food and wine.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42As for the proud father himself,
0:17:42 > 0:17:46visibly relieved, he settled down at Hampton Court
0:17:46 > 0:17:49to oversee his son's christening in person.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55The christening would advertise Edward's legitimacy,
0:17:55 > 0:17:59and confirm Henry's standing in the eyes of the world.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04Nothing quite this crucial had been laid on at Hampton Court before.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09Lucy and I want to find out what it actually looked like.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12And there's a remarkable record that can help us.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Lucy has a copy in her office.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Take a look at this extraordinary thing.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Whee!
0:18:22 > 0:18:24Isn't it amazing?
0:18:24 > 0:18:27It's a drawing of the christening procession
0:18:27 > 0:18:30of little future King Edward VI
0:18:30 > 0:18:32who's right up here at the end.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35And this is a drawing that was done in ink by a herald
0:18:35 > 0:18:38and it's just wonderful to see all the things that they were wearing
0:18:38 > 0:18:41and who was there, isn't it? I just love this picture.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43The reason, of course, that it works so well
0:18:43 > 0:18:46and would actually... Come on, look at it again.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48What does it really resemble?
0:18:48 > 0:18:51It looks like a sort of video recording.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54So you can see these as kind of separate frames
0:18:54 > 0:18:57- as going along there. - It's almost like watching a film.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01I think there might be about 90 of them altogether in the procession.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04- Even more than 90.- There were more because what they've done,
0:19:04 > 0:19:05they've done them representatively.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08- So these are the choir boys. - Oh, they're so cute!
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Cute little choir boys in their surplices and very curly hair.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14- Very curly hair! - Very, very curly hair,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16- and, but there would have been dozens of them.- Yes.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Then you get clergy and so on and esquires and gentlemen
0:19:20 > 0:19:24and knights and so on, all bigwigs going along there.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28And this man, looking a very, very Catholic Archbishop indeed
0:19:28 > 0:19:32with his mitre, is the man, in fact, who is going to turn
0:19:32 > 0:19:35the Church of England into a Protestant church,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37it's Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40But then you start to look
0:19:40 > 0:19:44and you see great nobles with bits of towelling.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47This is, in fact, the Earl of Sussex,
0:19:47 > 0:19:52and he is carrying the basins in which the godparents
0:19:52 > 0:19:54are going to wash their hands and the towels.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Then here you've got the salt
0:19:57 > 0:20:00which also plays an important part in the exorcism,
0:20:00 > 0:20:04in other words, the driving out of the evil spirits before the christening.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06And, this is carried by the Earl of Essex
0:20:06 > 0:20:12and he, too, has got a kind of towel worn as a sort of stole round his neck.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18And this is Edward's sister Elizabeth, the future Elizabeth I.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22But the slightly tricky thing for us is that
0:20:22 > 0:20:25this picture was done 30 years after the event that it shows,
0:20:25 > 0:20:28so some of the characters have in fact grown up.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32- Like poor Elizabeth. - She looks about 35.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35- She should be five. - She should be younger.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38She's about 33 here and she should be three.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41Yes, exactly. She was all of three-and-a-half,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44and she had to be carried in the arms of a chap.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46It would've been undignified.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50So then finally, the little prince himself, he's the climax, isn't he?
0:20:50 > 0:20:53- He is the climax.- He's wearing a massive christening gown,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55that's being carried by about, ooh, about seven people,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58which makes him look like the Very Hungry Caterpillar.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01And he's underneath this canopy of estate as well
0:21:01 > 0:21:03and they're carrying torches.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06You must have known that the important people were coming
0:21:06 > 0:21:08when this part reached you.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12Yes, with the procession then going, as it were, into reverse order of precedence,
0:21:12 > 0:21:16so not I think probably entirely happy about her position
0:21:16 > 0:21:21is the King's eldest daughter, his eldest child, Mary, there.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24- Yes, quite right.- Because there's only one heir to the throne.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27- Yes, it's all about him. - That's him, it's all about him.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30Now, when you look at Hampton Court Palace today, obviously it's
0:21:30 > 0:21:33an amazing survival, but what's missing of course is the people.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36The people, the life, the colour, the ceremony
0:21:36 > 0:21:39and I think it could be very, very interesting and exciting
0:21:39 > 0:21:42to put all of these people back into their original place.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46It will help me sort of imagine the palace in a new way I think.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51And so the preparations begin.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55A team of experts will spend several weeks helping us create
0:21:55 > 0:22:00Tudor clothes and objects similar to those used in the christening ceremony.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06In Cumbria, Ted Thompson has been recreating the huge torches
0:22:06 > 0:22:09and candles carried in the procession.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13They used an enormous amount of beeswax,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16making them luxurious in their own right.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21Meanwhile, in Nottingham, Ninya Mikhaila is making
0:22:21 > 0:22:24a christening costume fit for baby Prince Edward himself,
0:22:24 > 0:22:28including a purple silk mantle lined in ermine
0:22:28 > 0:22:31Don't worry, no real stoats were harmed.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37And finally, the most monumental item of all,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40a huge structure in Hampton Court's chapel,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43designed to elevate the christening font
0:22:43 > 0:22:47so that the courtiers could clearly see the ritual being performed.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51I want to know what it was really like.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53Even better, I want to make one.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57Sadly the BBC won't let me have a full size one,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00so I've come to see someone who can work on a smaller scale.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04Now, Ben, you've made many a Tudor building in miniature
0:23:04 > 0:23:07- before now, haven't you? - I have now, yes, several, yeah.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Well, you know that the sources are sometimes a little bit hard
0:23:10 > 0:23:12- to decipher.- They certainly are.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15- Let's have a look at this picture of Edward's font, then.- Yes.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18How does this drawing strike you, as a draughtsman?
0:23:18 > 0:23:22Well, obviously the person who drew this started off with
0:23:22 > 0:23:26very good intentions and they created a lovely octagonal shape
0:23:26 > 0:23:29and it looks like it's drawn with a ruler very carefully,
0:23:29 > 0:23:32and then, as they've gone in, the detail has gradually got
0:23:32 > 0:23:35more and more and more chaotic and cramped,
0:23:35 > 0:23:40so by the time they get to this staircase they're really in trouble.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43But I think there's enough detail in here to go from...
0:23:43 > 0:23:45- ..to have a go.- ..to build a model.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Shall we just compare it to this written description of it?
0:23:50 > 0:23:53It says that the font itself
0:23:53 > 0:23:56was, "Set upon a mount or stage
0:23:56 > 0:24:00"of four degrees in height."
0:24:00 > 0:24:03What do you think that means, "four degrees in height"?
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Well, I think it must mean four platforms or stages.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Which has your font right on the top.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11And then there's this wonderful sort of shower effect on the top.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14And then above is this incredible canopy.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17Is that actually going to fit into the chapel at Hampton Court?
0:24:17 > 0:24:19I imagine that because of the...
0:24:19 > 0:24:23just the logistics of how much space you need between each layer,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26that it would literally take up the entire space in the chapel.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28- That's really big.- It is huge.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30It would have been very, very impressive.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34While Ben sets to work on the font,
0:24:34 > 0:24:38back at Hampton Court I start recruiting volunteers
0:24:38 > 0:24:42from among my colleagues to dress up in Tudor costume,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45including tights, and to take part in the procession.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49But the ceremony wasn't all about costumes and furnishings.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Our historical cookery expert Marc Meltonville
0:24:54 > 0:24:56is busy in the Tudor kitchens.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01He's preparing an authentic delicacy
0:25:01 > 0:25:04that will feature in the christening celebrations,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07sweet and crispy wafers.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15The wafers were the kind of small
0:25:15 > 0:25:20but important detail that had to be just right for a royal ceremony.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25But Henry's determination to put on the best possible show
0:25:25 > 0:25:26came with a risk.
0:25:27 > 0:25:32The terrible levels of infant mortality amongst Tudor children,
0:25:32 > 0:25:34even royal ones,
0:25:34 > 0:25:36meant that they were normally christened immediately.
0:25:36 > 0:25:42In Edward's case, however, Henry delayed for three whole days,
0:25:42 > 0:25:47to give time to summon the right number of people of the right rank,
0:25:47 > 0:25:51wearing the right clothes and doing and carrying all the right things.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56And woe betide anybody who didn't.
0:26:00 > 0:26:06Processions were an essential component of Tudor royal events.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10For Edward's christening, not only senior members of the court
0:26:10 > 0:26:15but, for the first time, the royal baby himself would be on show.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Henry had invited foreign diplomats, pictured here.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24This was a matter of international prestige.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30It was the job of the court heralds to ensure
0:26:30 > 0:26:33the procession followed the correct etiquette.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38They play a key role in royal ceremonies to this very day.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44At the College of Arms in London, herald Peter O'Donoghue
0:26:44 > 0:26:48is showing me the original of Lucy's scroll,
0:26:48 > 0:26:51here depicting his predecessors,
0:26:51 > 0:26:54as well as other records of Edward's christening.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59This document is written as a set of instructions,
0:26:59 > 0:27:00it's in the future tense,
0:27:00 > 0:27:04it's noted in the margin as to what happened.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Now, what does that mean?
0:27:07 > 0:27:10The heralds would have probably drawn up this document,
0:27:10 > 0:27:15basing it on the precedents of previous royal christenings,
0:27:15 > 0:27:19which they would have in their records. It's very sequential.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22You've got a procession set out - first these people,
0:27:22 > 0:27:24then these people, then these people.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27This is the sort of document the heralds could use to make sure
0:27:27 > 0:27:29everyone's in the right place in the procession,
0:27:29 > 0:27:31stop people milling around and so on,
0:27:31 > 0:27:33and I think that's exactly what the heralds would have done,
0:27:33 > 0:27:36they would have brought order to the proceedings.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40We know Tudor ceremonies were never rehearsed.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43Isn't this a key to another extraordinary difference
0:27:43 > 0:27:47at this time? Then, you didn't need to rehearse a ceremony,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50you barely needed to rehearse an order of precedence.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53The Henrician court was a ceremonial place every day,
0:27:53 > 0:27:56getting up in the morning, washing your hands,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59- these were ceremonial occasions. - Going to the loo!
0:27:59 > 0:28:03These were ceremonial occasions, these were opportunities for the display of majesty of the crown.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07This would have been a more luxuriously furnished version.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10- Of everyday life.- Exactly, and in fact it's interesting
0:28:10 > 0:28:13when you read these plans, and instructions,
0:28:13 > 0:28:17what they concentrate on, apart from the order in which people should walk,
0:28:17 > 0:28:21they concentrate on the luxurious hangings and soft furnishings,
0:28:21 > 0:28:24because those were the things which were to be different.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31These soft furnishings are no minor detail.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36The christening would have thrilled with rich colour,
0:28:36 > 0:28:40with Edward carried under a canopy of cloth of gold.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45Textiles were at the heart of the spectacle,
0:28:45 > 0:28:50projecting magnificence and reinforcing status.
0:28:52 > 0:28:57So am I right in thinking this central strip is actually cloth of gold?
0:28:57 > 0:28:58Yes, this is cloth of gold
0:28:58 > 0:29:01and what makes it a cloth of gold is the inclusion of
0:29:01 > 0:29:05the metal threads. So these are used in the weft,
0:29:05 > 0:29:08and the metal threads consist of a silk core
0:29:08 > 0:29:11and around that core would be wrapped a very thin strip of metal,
0:29:11 > 0:29:15usually high quality silver, gilded.
0:29:15 > 0:29:17How much would this have cost in their money?
0:29:17 > 0:29:20They range in price, but we have examples
0:29:20 > 0:29:24which were costing six pounds, six shillings a yard.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28Well, nowadays that sounds like something quite cheap from a chain store.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32Then it is over a year's income for an ordinary working man,
0:29:32 > 0:29:36- for three feet, less than one metre. - Very much so.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39Who was allowed to wear cloth of gold?
0:29:39 > 0:29:42It was specified that the really expensive cloth of gold
0:29:42 > 0:29:45could only be worn by the King and his immediate family.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47So, in other words, his wife and his children.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51Then the higher ranks of the aristocracy were permitted to wear
0:29:51 > 0:29:55- cloth of gold but only for gowns and doublets.- A concession!
0:29:55 > 0:29:59So in limited amounts in their clothing,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02and then below that no-one was permitted to wear it.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07So what about the king's eldest daughter, his eldest child, Mary?
0:30:07 > 0:30:10Mary selects cloth of silver not cloth of gold.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13Was that modesty?
0:30:13 > 0:30:15Um, No, I don't think it was.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19Cloth of silver is slightly less expensive, but only slightly,
0:30:19 > 0:30:23and one of the reasons why it actually has such prestige is
0:30:23 > 0:30:25there's a relatively small amount of it produced,
0:30:25 > 0:30:28so it makes it harder to get hold of, so actually,
0:30:28 > 0:30:32by choosing something that's slightly less expensive in itself,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35but more exclusive, you can actually stand out that way.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41We've got then the court's ability at short notice
0:30:41 > 0:30:45to muster hundreds, if not thousands, of yards
0:30:45 > 0:30:48- of the most precious textile in Europe.- Yes.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51Sheer crass vulgarity,
0:30:51 > 0:30:52showing off wealth.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55Yes, or magnificence, if you want to put a better gloss on it!
0:30:55 > 0:30:59- The polite word is magnificence, the real word is bling.- Yes!
0:31:02 > 0:31:05Now, after weeks of preparation,
0:31:05 > 0:31:09our restaging of the procession at Hampton Court is about to begin.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15Is anyone actually naked in here?
0:31:15 > 0:31:17No, it looks safe.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22First I want to see the best-dressed woman in the procession,
0:31:22 > 0:31:26Henry's eldest daughter, the Lady Mary,
0:31:26 > 0:31:29she of the cloth of silver dress.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32Tell me a bit more about what Lady Mary is wearing.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34This is a very fabulous outfit,
0:31:34 > 0:31:37because a dress like this was made out of a series of parts
0:31:37 > 0:31:39that you could mix and match, wasn't it?
0:31:39 > 0:31:41Yeah, it was, and actually it's quite difficult to discern
0:31:41 > 0:31:44when you look at a portrait of the finished perfection
0:31:44 > 0:31:46how many layers there are, but there's a surprising
0:31:46 > 0:31:49number of layers. First she has her linen smock
0:31:49 > 0:31:51and this is the only bit that could be washed in water,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54so that's the bit that keeps the clothes clean
0:31:54 > 0:31:57and her from being made sore from the clothes.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00Then on top of that she has a layer that we can't see at all
0:32:00 > 0:32:01which was a petticoat.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04And then on the top of that she has an under dress
0:32:04 > 0:32:07which was called a kirtle and so what you can see here,
0:32:07 > 0:32:09this line of jewels around her neckline
0:32:09 > 0:32:12and the front part of the skirt
0:32:12 > 0:32:14are all part of that one kirtle.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19- And then finally this sort of silver gown goes on top, does it?- Yes.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23And then these enormous turn-back sleeves
0:32:23 > 0:32:25and then these ones are just tied in.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28- Just tied on, yes, I see. - And they're called fore sleeves
0:32:28 > 0:32:31so Lady Mary could choose to have a different pair of fore sleeves
0:32:31 > 0:32:33and a different kirtle and she'd have a whole new look.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36She looks like a proper princess but she's held together with string.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39- That's right, there's the secrets revealed.- Pins and string,
0:32:39 > 0:32:42that's the secret of looking good at the Tudor court, isn't it?
0:32:45 > 0:32:49But what of the little chap who all the fuss is about?
0:32:50 > 0:32:54First, Ninya and I have to do rather a lot of swaddling.
0:32:55 > 0:33:00The Tudors followed this ancient practice of tightly wrapping infants in cloth.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06And Edward really was the star of the show.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10His parents would've been absent from the ceremony
0:33:10 > 0:33:13because the focus was to be him, not them.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16For once, this wasn't about the King or the Queen.
0:33:16 > 0:33:21So now we're going to turn you into a royal baby, yes, we are.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26You're being very good.
0:33:26 > 0:33:31Edward is now ready to be wrapped in the gown Ninya has made.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34It's truly fit for a prince.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37You deserve no less, Edward,
0:33:37 > 0:33:41than a 12-foot, purple and gold, ermine-lined train.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50More than 90 volunteers are finally assembled,
0:33:50 > 0:33:56in full costume, in Hampton Court's Great Watching Chamber.
0:33:56 > 0:34:01- Gosh, what a sight! - Wow, you look beautiful.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04Let's have a look. Let's inspect the troops.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09- Splendid, don't they look good? - Amazing.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16'Although Henry, according to strict etiquette,
0:34:16 > 0:34:19'wasn't actually present for the procession or christening...'
0:34:19 > 0:34:22I love the canopy!
0:34:22 > 0:34:24'..the King would have been the first to hear
0:34:24 > 0:34:27'if anything wasn't quite up to scratch.'
0:34:30 > 0:34:33Ladies and gentlemen of Hampton Court,
0:34:33 > 0:34:36this is a fantastic night to be here.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39Now tonight, for all intents and purposes,
0:34:39 > 0:34:43it is the 15th of October 1537.
0:34:43 > 0:34:48And we all know why we're here, we're celebrating 500 years
0:34:48 > 0:34:51of this palace of ours being built by Cardinal Wolsey.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53And tonight we're going to see the palace being used
0:34:53 > 0:34:56as it was used by the Tudor Court.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59And what's really great tonight is that this is going to be
0:34:59 > 0:35:01done by the people who live and work here still today,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04just like those Tudor courtiers
0:35:04 > 0:35:07lived and worked and used this building as well as we do.
0:35:07 > 0:35:12It's a very good thing that you're all natives of this place.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14You mustn't look as though you're surprised
0:35:14 > 0:35:19or that you're doing anything you don't do every day.
0:35:19 > 0:35:23Every time you, gentleman of the choir, enter the chapel,
0:35:23 > 0:35:25you enter it in a procession.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28Every time... Where's the...? Who's the Duke of Norfolk?
0:35:28 > 0:35:32Where is he? Oh, there, yes, you're looking very, very splendid.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34I mistook you for Henry VIII. Never mind.
0:35:34 > 0:35:39Every time you, Milord of Norfolk and your fellow Knights Of The Garter
0:35:39 > 0:35:42walk at Windsor you are in procession.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46All of you remember, too, the Tudors walked differently from us.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48The shoulders go back.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52Women also - look at the postures in Holbein -
0:35:52 > 0:35:56walk with that sense of authority and dignity.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00Everybody carrying something, it's precious.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04Those of you who are carrying the salt, erm, the basins,
0:36:04 > 0:36:09those of you with towels, again these are objects of dignity.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13Whoever has got the task of carrying the Lady Elizabeth,
0:36:13 > 0:36:15you should also be looking terribly smug.
0:36:15 > 0:36:20You are Viscount Beauchamp, the brother of the Queen,
0:36:20 > 0:36:23this is the moment that's going to make you.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27You, sir, that is an instrument of authority.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30If you look in the drawing, you can actually see them
0:36:30 > 0:36:32holding it down here, so you're actually...
0:36:38 > 0:36:41Back, you know, it's that.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43OK?
0:36:47 > 0:36:52Hampton Court was designed with royal ceremony in mind,
0:36:52 > 0:36:55and our procession will walk the established route
0:36:55 > 0:36:58that had to be followed to the Chapel Royal.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03First, Edward was collected from the royal apartments.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08And now, the procession proper begins,
0:37:08 > 0:37:12down this long processional corridor.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17The torches at the front are unlit,
0:37:17 > 0:37:19not because of the fire hazard,
0:37:19 > 0:37:21but for ceremonial reasons.
0:37:23 > 0:37:27Next come the choir and the clergy.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38Here are the heralds, tabards over their arms,
0:37:38 > 0:37:40keeping an eye on the proceedings.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45Then the senior members of the court,
0:37:45 > 0:37:49and the nobles bearing their towels and gold and silver plate.
0:37:51 > 0:37:56And here, under his cloth of gold canopy,
0:37:56 > 0:38:00is Edward himself, carried by the Marchioness of Exeter.
0:38:00 > 0:38:05It's a canopy of state, for indoor use as well as for out,
0:38:05 > 0:38:11the kind of ceremonial object these rooms can comfortably accommodate.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16The Lady Mary, godmother-to-be,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19and the noblewomen follow behind.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31And now, the procession's grandest moment
0:38:31 > 0:38:34as it passes through the Great Hall,
0:38:34 > 0:38:36in front of the priceless tapestries,
0:38:36 > 0:38:39Henry's splendid stage set.
0:38:40 > 0:38:44The walls would also have been lined with crowds of onlookers,
0:38:44 > 0:38:47cordoned off from the route by barriers.
0:38:47 > 0:38:52But David and I have a perfect view from the minstrel's gallery above.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56This is Tudor theatre, except that it isn't theatre,
0:38:56 > 0:38:58it's everyday life of the court, but to us
0:38:58 > 0:39:02it looks so theatrical, doesn't it, their coming in like that?
0:39:02 > 0:39:04But actually, it is theatre.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07There is no difference between the theatre of Shakespeare
0:39:07 > 0:39:08and the real court.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12They actually re-used court costumes in the plays.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15Look at the gold on him, that's wonderful.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20Also all of these rooms are set.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22They're hung with the most precious tapestries.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25We get used to thinking of these as furnished rooms.
0:39:25 > 0:39:26They were only semi-furnished.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30They're furnished by the people, aren't they?
0:39:30 > 0:39:33- In their red velvet... - They are now.- ..their cassocks,
0:39:33 > 0:39:37and the tapestries would sort of have been in that register of brightness too.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41Another thing that we are looking at here,
0:39:41 > 0:39:43is the dress of the creme de la creme,
0:39:43 > 0:39:46the top 300-400 people in the country.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50And that distinction between the different ranks of society
0:39:50 > 0:39:52through dress is also very alien to us.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56What I think is particularly odd
0:39:56 > 0:39:59in the modern perspective is that you see people
0:39:59 > 0:40:02clearly of enormously high dignity, with great chains of office,
0:40:02 > 0:40:05- carrying things.- Carrying a towel! - A towel wrapped round your neck.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08- And actually, Tudor clothes can't easily be cleaned.- No, no.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10- With all those precious fabrics... - A lot of brushing.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13..and particularly the ones which have metal thread,
0:40:13 > 0:40:15they're very, very vulnerable.
0:40:15 > 0:40:16The last thing you want to do is get them wet.
0:40:18 > 0:40:20Now we can't see, because they are under the canopy.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22Well, I can if I sort of go down like that.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24I can just see a bit of the baby's robe.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27Yes, we've got the baby, and we've got his train being carried.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32And here's the Lady Mary with her train being carried
0:40:32 > 0:40:34by Lady Kingston, I think it is.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36And here are all the other ladies.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39It's a bit like being at the opera, isn't it?
0:40:39 > 0:40:42That's the sort of time when you would see a lot of people
0:40:42 > 0:40:45coming through a wonderful, bizarre place carrying torches.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48It doesn't normally happen in modern life.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59As the procession now makes its way down the Great Staircase,
0:40:59 > 0:41:01David and I get ahead.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14They're coming down out of all the royal apartments
0:41:14 > 0:41:17that are on the first floor in stately fashion.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19And they're coming through what was then the main
0:41:19 > 0:41:23private courtyard of the palace built by Wolsey.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29What's quite good is to see how all the different spaces
0:41:29 > 0:41:33of the palace link up because if you're in one of the rooms,
0:41:33 > 0:41:36it's very splendid, but you can't think of it in isolation.
0:41:36 > 0:41:37They are linked.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40And this is what we don't normally see.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43We don't see how the things link together, using ceremony.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46It's like the glue that makes the palace really stick together.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52I think actually having put this thing on
0:41:52 > 0:41:54has knitted everything together. I don't know about you,
0:41:54 > 0:41:58but I've had to think about how various things connected
0:41:58 > 0:42:00with each other in a way which I'd never done before.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04You know about costume, you know about Tudor ritual,
0:42:04 > 0:42:06you know about what things are carried and whatever,
0:42:06 > 0:42:09but you've never actually bothered to think, "Could this be carried?
0:42:09 > 0:42:12"What did you do with a towel round your neck?"
0:42:12 > 0:42:15All of these questions that are theoretical
0:42:15 > 0:42:17now actually become vigorously practical.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25Normally, as historians, we don't actually think of how things worked,
0:42:25 > 0:42:30and this is all about how they work and it's a wonderful exercise.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35It shows me how much is missing from Hampton Court just as a building.
0:42:35 > 0:42:36It needs its inhabitants.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43The procession now heads for its destination,
0:42:43 > 0:42:49the only space in Henry's palace to rival the Great Hall in grandeur.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00The Chapel Royal is the one part of Hampton Court
0:43:00 > 0:43:03that's been in continuous use since it was built.
0:43:04 > 0:43:09Henry installed its most striking feature, the magnificent ceiling.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15But at Edward's christening,
0:43:15 > 0:43:19all eyes would have been on the construction that filled the nave.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23An extraordinary, red and gold stage.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30And my own, slightly smaller version, is finally ready.
0:43:33 > 0:43:37- What do you think?- Gosh! - Do you like it?
0:43:37 > 0:43:40- It's a pretty impressive thing, isn't it?- It's very impressive.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44The colours are right, the sense of dominant scarlet and gold
0:43:44 > 0:43:47like most things in the court of Henry VIII.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51The canopy, the elaboration and whatever of that is splendid.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54I think that there's a real problem.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58The purpose of this structure is visibility,
0:43:58 > 0:44:02that every single move, every single processional move
0:44:02 > 0:44:06up to the font, around the font should be visible.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08Let me explain how it works.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11- All the spectators are here in the body of it.- Yes.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13- And the entry point is here.- Yes.
0:44:13 > 0:44:16And in our drawing it's suggested that that's actually guarded
0:44:16 > 0:44:17by warders with their halberds,
0:44:17 > 0:44:22and the way to pass through it is to come along these side passages,
0:44:22 > 0:44:24- and there are no doors here.- No.
0:44:24 > 0:44:28Because that's the walls of the nave that we're standing in.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31Then at this end you need to be able to get to the altar
0:44:31 > 0:44:33so that's what that door is for.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36And this door here goes to the so called traverse
0:44:36 > 0:44:39- that's like a little... - Changing room, a baby changing room.
0:44:39 > 0:44:40Exactly, exactly.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44And then inside we can see from the drawing that there are steps up
0:44:44 > 0:44:46all four sides so I'm imagining some kind of wonderful moment
0:44:46 > 0:44:49when perhaps four people at once all come up.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52That would be really splendid if that did actually happen.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55Well, of course the godparents would come up.
0:44:55 > 0:44:57So they would all be standing up here.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59It would be like the arrival on the stage of the boy band.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02And then there's the crowning moment where absolutely everybody
0:45:02 > 0:45:05in the whole space can see what's going on here.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07There's the dipping of the baby underneath this
0:45:07 > 0:45:09really terrific little canopy.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12So it was a kind of combination
0:45:12 > 0:45:15of court drama and Christian drama
0:45:15 > 0:45:18with this baby turning into a Christian and turning into a prince.
0:45:18 > 0:45:22Curiously it's his first drama, his first great scene.
0:45:25 > 0:45:30So we've got a stage, but what sort of ceremony took place on it?
0:45:30 > 0:45:34We know Edward's christening was incredibly traditional,
0:45:34 > 0:45:37still Catholic in all but name.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40Despite having kicked off the Reformation,
0:45:40 > 0:45:44Henry wasn't about to take any chances with his son's soul.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49What made this royal christening different was its luxury,
0:45:49 > 0:45:51or, as David would say, its bling.
0:45:52 > 0:45:57It centred on a series of precious objects of gold and silver,
0:45:57 > 0:46:00similar to these at Oxford's Ashmolean Museum.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04Now, Philippa, in the christening procession
0:46:04 > 0:46:06you can see quite clearly that people are carrying
0:46:06 > 0:46:08a lot of heavy metal.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10Almost certainly mostly gold I should think,
0:46:10 > 0:46:13- though there would have been some silver gilt.- Like this!
0:46:13 > 0:46:14Absolutely, this of course is
0:46:14 > 0:46:16one of the key objects,
0:46:16 > 0:46:20the salt. Wonderful hexagonal salt, very heavy, you can see,
0:46:20 > 0:46:23or sense the weight of it.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27So, when the christening procession got to the door of the chapel,
0:46:27 > 0:46:32the priest is going to use the salt somehow to exorcise the baby,
0:46:32 > 0:46:35to drive the devil out, how does that work?
0:46:35 > 0:46:37It was certainly, it was a very ancient belief,
0:46:37 > 0:46:40well pre-Christian, that salt had...it had preservative powers,
0:46:40 > 0:46:43but it but it also had powers against evil.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52After the exorcism at the church door,
0:46:52 > 0:46:54Edward is brought inside the chapel,
0:46:54 > 0:46:57undressed, and taken to the font.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01The font is lined with the finest linen.
0:47:01 > 0:47:05Edward's immersed three times in the holy water
0:47:05 > 0:47:09and anointed with oil before being handed to his godparents.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16And there's a point where the godparents have to wash their hands.
0:47:16 > 0:47:21This is where this wonderful basin comes in to play.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25- Do you see the little drainage hole? - Oh, yes.
0:47:25 > 0:47:28And then on the back the spout,
0:47:28 > 0:47:32and this would be held by a nobleman with a towel,
0:47:32 > 0:47:34slightly tilted.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37And I'm washing my hands, underneath the spout like this.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40- And the other basin would be below it.- Would catch it.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43And then a long towel over the shoulder to dry the hands
0:47:43 > 0:47:46This is the only one surviving in the world.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48- It's a wonderful thing. - It's just fabulous.
0:47:57 > 0:48:01Almighty God, of his infinite grace and goodness,
0:48:01 > 0:48:05give and grant good life and long to the right high,
0:48:05 > 0:48:10excellent and mighty Prince, Prince Edward, Duke of Cornwall
0:48:10 > 0:48:11and Earl of Chester,
0:48:11 > 0:48:16son to our most dread and gracious Lord, King Henry VIII.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Larges, Larges.
0:48:30 > 0:48:34This is the great, transformative moment.
0:48:34 > 0:48:36With the proclamation of his titles,
0:48:36 > 0:48:39baby Edward becomes a royal prince.
0:48:39 > 0:48:43The torches are finally lit,
0:48:43 > 0:48:46the trumpets sound, as a blaze of light,
0:48:46 > 0:48:52and a blast of sound, welcomes the new heir to the throne of England.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03The choir of the Chapel Royal sings the Te Deum,
0:49:03 > 0:49:05and Prince Edward is confirmed.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08The ceremony, sacred and secular,
0:49:08 > 0:49:12religious and royal, is now complete.
0:49:12 > 0:49:16And now, with everybody still in the chapel,
0:49:16 > 0:49:18it's time to celebrate.
0:49:20 > 0:49:26Just for a moment, that rigid hierarchy from the procession dissolves,
0:49:26 > 0:49:30and everybody gets to join in with the goodies,
0:49:30 > 0:49:34the wine, the sweetmeats, and those special wafers.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39It's a bit like a Tudor cocktail party.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43Nobody's rank matters for the moment,
0:49:43 > 0:49:45except for the royal baby's.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48And everybody rejoices.
0:49:57 > 0:50:01Finally the procession returns from the Chapel Royal,
0:50:01 > 0:50:03reversing its route,
0:50:03 > 0:50:08to present the christened Prince to the King and Queen.
0:50:11 > 0:50:15I wonder what Jane was thinking as she looked out through this window,
0:50:15 > 0:50:21down onto the christening procession of her son, 477 years ago.
0:50:22 > 0:50:26Perhaps she felt satisfaction and achievement, job done.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31Or perhaps she looked down with a sense of wistfulness,
0:50:31 > 0:50:34that's where the colour and the life is now,
0:50:34 > 0:50:38Jane has been left behind, she was just the incubator after all.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44I'm absolutely certain, though, that she thought about the future.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47The goal of her life had been achieved.
0:50:47 > 0:50:48What would be left?
0:50:56 > 0:50:58In the immediate days after the christening,
0:50:58 > 0:51:01not much thought seems to have been paid to the Queen.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06Following normal Tudor practice,
0:51:06 > 0:51:09Jane would remain in her bedchamber for another month,
0:51:09 > 0:51:13until the ritual purification ceremony known as churching.
0:51:16 > 0:51:17But something was very wrong.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22It appears that Jane developed a fever following Edward's birth.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26Dr Elizabeth Hurren is a medical historian
0:51:26 > 0:51:29who has studied the contemporary accounts.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33It's possible that she had something called sepsis,
0:51:33 > 0:51:38which was commonly known as puerperal fever or childbed fever
0:51:38 > 0:51:42and it's an infection of the uterine tract.
0:51:42 > 0:51:43If we look here,
0:51:43 > 0:51:47one gets an infection here and that would be very worrying
0:51:47 > 0:51:51because that's a very big killer of women in the past.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54And on day 11 there's this natural laxe
0:51:54 > 0:51:58or gushing out that could have been the placenta.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00Well, that's a possibility.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02It's probably partially come away because
0:52:02 > 0:52:05they would have expected some of it to come away at the birth.
0:52:05 > 0:52:09So first of all she falls ill with this fever, this sepsis, and then
0:52:09 > 0:52:13maybe the placenta was trapped inside, going bad and poisoning her.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16Yes, and in a pre-antibiotic era
0:52:16 > 0:52:19that's just too much for her to deal with.
0:52:19 > 0:52:24Why did Jane's midwife not put up her hand and pull the placenta out?
0:52:24 > 0:52:28Well, it's a royal midwife, you've been chosen for a birth.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31Now you have a certain status, of course you have,
0:52:31 > 0:52:35but the fact if you just haven't handled as many births
0:52:35 > 0:52:36as a common midwife.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39Is it possible then, and this is really horribly ironic,
0:52:39 > 0:52:43that Jane's being the Queen was actually bad for her health
0:52:43 > 0:52:46because people were reluctant, they didn't want to get on with it,
0:52:46 > 0:52:49they felt a bit nervous and they weren't all that experienced?
0:52:49 > 0:52:51Yes, if you look at all of Henry's wives actually
0:52:51 > 0:52:53it's one of the great ironies
0:52:53 > 0:52:56of the number of childbirth problems that they actually had
0:52:56 > 0:52:59and the price that royal women have always paid in childbirth.
0:52:59 > 0:53:00We don't often think about that,
0:53:00 > 0:53:05but in the end you have to deliver the bloodline of England,
0:53:05 > 0:53:07that is your role, that is your job
0:53:07 > 0:53:10and you pay the price in the birthing room.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21As the Queen's condition worsened, the news would have spread through
0:53:21 > 0:53:25Hampton Court's corridors and undercrofts.
0:53:27 > 0:53:29Henry was due to leave Hampton Court,
0:53:29 > 0:53:34but he lingered on as Jane's life hung in the balance.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41On the night of the 24th of October, 1537,
0:53:41 > 0:53:45less than two weeks after the birth of her son,
0:53:45 > 0:53:47Jane died.
0:53:59 > 0:54:04In a sombre, shadow version of the christening of Jane's son
0:54:04 > 0:54:09two weeks before, now Jane's own body was carried
0:54:09 > 0:54:12with a torch-lit procession through Hampton Court.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16It was led by priests.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18The route was hung with black cloth.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23It was watched by courtiers and servants held back behind barriers.
0:54:23 > 0:54:28Many of the same people were here who'd been at the christening.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30It was almost the same event,
0:54:30 > 0:54:33but now in a minor key.
0:54:37 > 0:54:43Here in the Chapel Royal, Jane's body lay in state for two weeks.
0:54:43 > 0:54:45It was guarded 24 hours a day.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50Eventually, she was taken to Windsor Castle.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53She was transported with great ceremony,
0:54:53 > 0:54:56drawn by six chariot horses,
0:54:56 > 0:54:59and there she was buried.
0:54:59 > 0:55:04And when Henry himself died, he too chose to be buried at Windsor.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07Out of all of his wives,
0:55:07 > 0:55:11Jane was the one with whom he wanted to spend eternity.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19So what became of their son Edward,
0:55:19 > 0:55:24over whose birth his father had rejoiced so much,
0:55:24 > 0:55:28but for whom his mother had paid such a terrible price?
0:55:30 > 0:55:34Here he is, in a painting at Hampton Court,
0:55:34 > 0:55:38attributed to his court painter, William Scrots.
0:55:38 > 0:55:42Although Edward can only be 10 or 12,
0:55:42 > 0:55:46he's given, a bit pathetically, for he is a little boy,
0:55:46 > 0:55:49his father's brash, swaggering pose.
0:55:50 > 0:55:54But there's an intelligence and seriousness in the face -
0:55:54 > 0:55:56there had need to be.
0:55:56 > 0:56:00He succeeded to the throne when barely nine years old,
0:56:00 > 0:56:03following Henry's death in January 1547.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08And while Henry VIII's flirtations with Protestantism
0:56:08 > 0:56:11were a matter of pure convenience,
0:56:11 > 0:56:15his son Edward was a true believer.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18His reign was marked with political upheaval
0:56:18 > 0:56:20and radical Protestant reform.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24But the reign proved to be a short one.
0:56:24 > 0:56:28And Edward VI, England's boy king,
0:56:28 > 0:56:32was dead at the age of only 15,
0:56:32 > 0:56:36coughing up his heart from tuberculosis.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42Not only did Edward die young,
0:56:42 > 0:56:44he died without an heir.
0:56:46 > 0:56:50As did his half-sister Mary who succeeded him to the throne.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55Then, of course, came his sister Elizabeth,
0:56:55 > 0:56:58the childless Virgin Queen.
0:57:02 > 0:57:07For everybody at Hampton Court on the 15th of October 1537,
0:57:07 > 0:57:09all dressed in their finery,
0:57:09 > 0:57:13Edward's christening must have felt like the dawn of a new age,
0:57:13 > 0:57:15the beginning of something.
0:57:17 > 0:57:19But actually, it was an ending.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23Edward was the last of Henry's line.
0:57:23 > 0:57:28He was the last Tudor, there would never be another Tudor christening.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31And Hampton Court would never witness an event
0:57:31 > 0:57:35of such splendour and significance again.
0:57:38 > 0:57:41But the story of the palace was far from over.
0:57:45 > 0:57:50King Henry VIII was the greatest palace builder in English royal history,
0:57:50 > 0:57:54and yet, within a century and a half of his death,
0:57:54 > 0:57:58most of the 55 palaces that he'd built
0:57:58 > 0:58:01had either been allowed to fall into ruin and decay
0:58:01 > 0:58:04or actually demolished.
0:58:04 > 0:58:06Not so Hampton Court.
0:58:06 > 0:58:10Instead, here, subsequent kings extended it
0:58:10 > 0:58:12and rebuilt it, magnificently.
0:58:14 > 0:58:17But behind the majestic Baroque facade,
0:58:17 > 0:58:20so much of the Tudor palace still remains.
0:58:20 > 0:58:24They kept it to recognise the importance of Henry VIII
0:58:24 > 0:58:26in defining the monarchy.
0:58:26 > 0:58:30And in the 500th anniversary year of Hampton Court,
0:58:30 > 0:58:34it still has so much to tell us about Henry VIII
0:58:34 > 0:58:36and the history of England.