Building of the palace began in 1515 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII.
In 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the Cardinal gifted the palace to the King to check his disgrace; Henry VIII later enlarged the palace. Along with St.James' Palace, it is one of only two surviving palaces out of the many owned by King Henry VIII.
In the following century, King William III's extensive rebuilding and expansion work, which was intended to rival The Castle of Versailles, destroyed much of the Tudor palace
Work ceased in 1694, leaving the palace in two distinct contrasting architectural styles, domestic Tudor and Baroque.
While the palace's styles are an accident of fate, a unity exists due to the use of pink bricks and a symmetrical, if vague, balancing of successive low wings. King George II was the last monarch to reside in the palace.
Height: 95mm
Width: 80mm
Depth: 40mm