Hampton Court Palace has reopened with a new exhibition highlighting Tudor treasures. Gold and Glory: Henry VIII and the French King will bring the opulence and spectacle of the Field of Cloth of Gold – Henry VIII’s legendary encounter with his great rival François I – to life at Hampton Court Palace until 5 September 2021.

In the summer of 1520, Henry VIII of England met François I of France near Calais, for a grand European festival, designed to improve relations between the two rival kingdoms. The competing royal dynasties, along with thousands of their courtiers, enjoyed a lavish 18 days of feasts, tournaments, masquerades and religious services set amidst a sea of specially built – and incredibly elaborate – tents, banqueting houses and ‘portable palaces’. The occasion became known as ‘The Field of Cloth of Gold’.

As Hampton Court Palace’s glittering interiors reopen to visitors, Historic Royal Palaces will be celebrating this legendary meeting of kings with a special exhibition exploring the drama, diplomacy and discord behind the spectacle. Originally scheduled to open in 2020, the exhibition will be situated at the heart of the Tudor palace, in the rooms built for Cardinal Wolsey – Henry VIII’s chief minister and one of the principal organisers of the Field of Cloth of Gold.

The display will feature a never-before-seen tapestry which sheds rare light on people of colour in the Tudor period. Manufactured in Tournai in the 1520s, the richly woven textile depicts a bout of wrestling at the Field of Cloth of Gold presided over by François I, and includes among the brace of royal musicians a black trumpeter. This is one of only a handful of surviving early 16th century visual representations of people of colour at the European royal courts and provides a window into the largely unknown world of the black Tudors.

The exhibition will be included in admission to Hampton Court Palace. Advance booking will be required to help Historic Royal Palaces manage capacity and to allow everyone to enjoy their visit. Group organisers can book timed tickets via the Historic Royal Palaces website. If you have a Travel Trade account, you can book your time slot via the B2B portal. For further information, please contact groupsandtraveltrade@hrp.org.uk