ROYAL PALACES OF
QUEEN ELIZABETH I

While Eltham Palace, on the east side of London, was one of the most important royal palaces in the 14th and 15th centuries, it had declined in importance by Tudor times. Greenwich Palace, which was nearby and more easily accessible, was preferred. Nevertheless, the palace remained a royal residence and King Henry VIII spent much of his childhood there. As King, he extended the palace and added a chapel.

Queen Elizabeth also retained the palace as a royal residence, and made some additions, but she rarely stayed there. By the seventeenth century the palace had fallen into disrepair and parts of it were demolished. The Great Hall survives, however, and is now part of an art deco mansion built around the palace remains in the early twentieth century.

PALACES