The Boleyn Apartments at Hever Castle

A sneak peek behind the scenes at the new Boleyn apartments at Hever Castle! I could not be more excited to see them, nor more proud of Kate McCaffrey, Alison Palmer, Susan Bourton and all of the team who have worked so hard on this amazing project. It looks incredible 🙌 Hever Castle is the place to be this Summer! The Boleyn Appartment rooms open to the public at 1pm on Wednesday 26th June. #AnneBoleyn #HeverCastle #TheBoleynApartment #Tudor #tudorhistory

[@kellyel8646]

Thank you for sharing this! I was just there two weeks ago (whilst on vacation). It was surreal to walk in the same footsteps as Ann.

[@edithengel2284]

Wonderful achievement! Thank you for sharing the video.
I am a bit surprised, though, that Anne's prayer book appears to be touched with bare hands.

[@DrOwenEmmerson]

You are so welcome! The best practice guidelines for handling precious manuscripts changed some time ago. Clean, dry hands are best practice 🙌

[@graphiquejack]

So you’re going to show loyalty to Anne with the falcon but then add Katherine’s pomegranate? I’m trying to understand the logic here… is this supposed to be done up in the style that Anne would have known as a child (in which it would make sense to pay homage to the Queen of the time, Katherine of Aragon, but then Anne wouldn’t have the falcon badge yet) or when Anne is Queen… in which case, why have pomegranates? And then a portrait of Jane in the room? Ummm…. Seems a little weird to me. I can’t imagine Thomas Boleyn keeping a portrait of the woman who supplanted his murdered daughter in his privy chamber.

[@DrOwenEmmerson]

Ah, so there’s a misunderstanding here about where the falcon that Anne went on to adopt as Queen derived. It forms part of the heraldry of the Butler family, her paternal ancestors. Lady Margaret Butler, co-heiress of the Earldom of Ormond and Thomas’ mother, resided with her son and his family at Hever. Thomas also used the Butler falcon in his heraldry. This room is set in the early 1520s, when Elizabeth Boleyn and her daughters were in Queen Catherine’s employ, and when Thomas had long been in service to Henry. They would absolutely have featured their sovereigns emblems alongside their most prestigious heraldry in the decor of their apartment, along with portraits of the King and Queen. That isn’t a portrait of Jane. It’s a portrait of Queen Catherine of Aragon from 1520. Hope that helps!