Though Wolsey had handed over the lease of Hampton Court to the King in 1525, when the first small cloud of royal displeasure had appeared, he continued to occupy his beautiful palace for four more years, until his final disgrace over the question of the divorce with Katharine of Aragon. King Henry took possession in 1529, and at once began building apartments for the Lady Anne Boleyn, though Queen Katharine was still with him. Four years later, after Cranmer had pronounced a divorce, the Pope still remaining obdurate, Anne Boleyn spent a gay and brilliant honeymoon within the Cardinal's palace, recking little that the fickle King who had thrown off a faithful servant and a devoted wife for her sake, was to condemn her within a few years to a cruel death.
Hampton Court remained Henry's favourite palace, for he was proof against any sad memories of past wives, while he was enjoying the company of another. Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife, whom he married the day after Anne Boleyn was executed, gave birth to Henry's only son, Edward, within the palace, the young Prince being received with great rejoicings, which were cut short by the death of his mother a few days afterwards. Catharine Howard and Catharine Parr were both married at Hampton Court, and Anne of Cleves also spent a short time there, so that the palace is associated with all the wives of Henry VIII.
As a builder, King Henry is responsible for the Great Hall, on the north side of the Clock Court, a fine Perpendicular building, with a rich ceiling and large bay window.
Even when, in his later years, he could no longer enjoy his favourite sports of hunting, archery, tennis, and fishing, owing to his increasing corpulence, Henry retained his love for the Cardinal's palace, and was often there amusing himself with games of backgammon and dice, and playing on the lute, having been always fond of music.
Queen Mary, Henry's eldest daughter, spent her gloomy honeymoon at the palace, none of her English subjects welcoming her marriage with Philip II. of Spain. Philip, though outwardly devoted, was not much in love with his plain and unattractive wife, who seems to have lost all joyousness during the years of her retirement following the divorce of her mother. Deep melancholy and despair settled down upon the unfortunate Queen, when her hopes of an heir to carry on her work of restoring the Roman Catholic religion in England were denied, and she knew that her Protestant sister must succeed.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth no very important events occurred, for though the Queen constantly visited the palace, she came for periods of rest and amusement, away from all political cares. When her successor came to Hampton Court, he was delighted with it, as he was with most of the English royal palaces, which were so much more rich and luxurious than those of Holyrood or Falkland. The park allowed him opportunity for his much-loved occupation of hunting, when, his ungainly figure clad in a vivid green hunting suit, he would follow the stag with great keenness. But, enthusiastic as he was, he much disliked any crowds assembling at the royal meets, thinking that they worried the hounds and spoilt the game, and so he issued peevish proclamations against "the bold and barbarous insolency of multitudes of vulgar people," who, if they followed the hunt at all were to be conveyed to the nearest gaol.
The favourite indoor entertainment at this time was the masque, which reached the height of its popularity and glory during James's reign. Ben Jonson, the greatest poet, and Inigo Jones, the greatest architect of the day, were employed as author and designer of these stately dramatic performances, in which the nobles and ladies of the Court took part, before an audience representing the highest in the land.
But King James could not spend all his time watching gods and goddesses upon the stage, or hunting the deer in his park, for the question of religious toleration had to be decided. A conference was held in January, 1604, at the palace, between the Puritan clergy and the bishops, on the question of some lesser ecclesiastical reforms involving no change in the organization of the Church. James delighted in presiding at the conference, as it gave him an opportunity of showing forth his scholastic accomplishments, which were real, though extremely pedantic. No settlement was arrived at, for James, after his experience under the Presbyterians in Scotland, delighted in the Church of England with its subservience to royal authority. King James thought he had crushed the Puritans with his arguments, but he had only left them certain that all concessions would have to be wrested from the King by force, resulting in the deadly struggle of his son's reign.
Though Charles I. grew to be devotedly attached to his French bride, Henrietta Maria, he had some unfortunate disagreements with her during the early months of his married life, which he spent at Hampton Court. Owing partly to the interference of the Duke of Buckingham, Charles's unwise favourite, and to the young bride's extreme youth and lack of tact, there were constant quarrels between the royal pair. Henrietta Maria's large train of French followers were extremely unpopular among the English, owing to their religious beliefs, and the Queen herself was ill-advised enough to refuse to take part in the coronation ceremonies, as they were performed by Protestant clergy. At last Charles grew so annoyed that he dismissed all the French suite in a high-handed manner, and sent them back to France. Though the Queen never became popular among the Puritans, who attributed much of the King's stubbornness to her suggestion, yet she and her royal husband learned to live together in great domestic bliss.