A Tour of the King's Privy Chamber
The royal palaces were furnished with the most luxurious furnishings that could be obtained in the sixteenth century. This included Flemish tapestries, Turkey carpets and great cupboards of gold and silver plate. Very few objects from the households of Henry VIII have survived to the present day, but an idea of his magnificent lifestyle can be gained from the vast Inventory of 1547 which was made after his death. It lists the contents of his royal wardrobe, his collection of jewels and furs, his rich wall hangings, embroidered bedspreads and fine table linen and his library of books.
The King's Privy Chambers were his personal apartments where he retired to rest, study and pray. Only a privileged few were permitted entry there. The royal apartments were furnished with the most prized treasures of the king's collection. The rest of his valuables were stored in The Jewel House in the Tower of London. The Privy Chamber of King Henry VIII would have been a wonder-house of the most valuable pieces of craftsmanship and the latest scientific instruments such as clocks and armillary spheres. These precious items were intended to divert the king during his times of leisure and impress those who were invited to attend him there.
It must have been an impressive experience to visit the king's palaces and even more overwhelming to see the luxury of his Privy Chambers. In a scene from "The Tudor Fool," I describe how Henry VIII takes delight in showing off the splendour of his collection to the astonished Will Somers:
"I left the servants to their morning tasks and found a place out of their way where I could feast my eyes upon the magnificent furnishings of the Privy Chamber. The king was sitting at his desk and talking eagerly with his attendants. He was paying no attention to the neat bundle of letters lying in front of him. I looked around in awe at the many marvels on display around me. My attention was riveted by a wonderful model of a ship standing upon the back of a silver mermaid. It seemed incredible that any craftsman could fashion such a remarkable object and I drew closer to inspect it. But the eagle-eyed Sir William had noticed my preoccupation and came over to warn me away.
“They are not to be touched!” he snapped. “They are the king’s own treasures and each one is priceless.”
I recoiled from it in alarm. But the incident had drawn the king’s attention. “Let him be, my good Compton. It does no harm for him to look. I’ll warrant he has never seen such things before in his life.”
And in truth, I had not. Our village church had a crucifix of carved wood on the altar and a brightly painted rood screen depicting the Lord’s Passion with the Virgin Mary and St John. My former master, Richard Fermor, had a set of pewter plate for his daily table and a set of fine silver spoons reserved for important guests. But I had never imagined such wonderful treasures as those which graced the king’s apartments. Henry was gratified by my interest and came over to explain it to me in person. He was a great lover of curious objects and enjoyed nothing more than showing them off to his visitors.
“That ship is an ornamental salt cellar known as a nef,” he explained. “It is designed to hold a knife, spoon, napkin and salt at a banquet,” he explained. “The vessel is made from a nautilus shell which is most rare and is decorated with silver and pearls. It is a fine piece of craftsmanship. But I have many more to show you.”
To my delight a fountain of alabaster set in an artificial rock was fixed into the wall of the chamber. It was set with rock crystals and pearls to imitate a spray of water. But that was the least of the wonders on display here.
“My collection features precious stones from deep in the earth and curiosities from the sea such as mother of pearl, shell and coral,” he boasted. “In this room you will see wonders from all around the world. Look at this object here, Will. Do you know what it is?” I gazed at a great white egg mounted in gold and coloured enamel in fascination. Henry was pleased to enlighten me. “It is not the egg of a dragon nor a griffin, but a fabulous African bird called an ostrich which only a few travellers have ever seen.”
“Where do these things come from?” I enquired.
“Some of them are gifts from kings, nobles and visitors to the court,” he said. “Others I purchase from foreign merchants or else I commission new pieces from my goldsmith. A king is expected to have a display of rich treasures to impress visitors and ambassadors to the court.”
“What are they for? What use do they have?” I asked.
“Some of them have a use as instruments of science,” he said with pride. “I will explain them to you. I keep my mechanical treasures over here.” The king had a great fondness for clocks. One of his most prized pieces was a silver clock contained in rock crystal and standing upon six balls of coloured agate. Another clock was topped with a figure of Hercules grappling with a great snake. “You see these clocks?” he said. “They are mechanisms for telling the time. The round dial is numbered from one to twelve to mark the hours of the day and night. And the short hand on the dial points to the present hour. It is now only nine of the clock in the morning. And this small round device is a compass which is used by travellers. Its arrow always points in the direction of north.”
I was amazed by the sight of these mysterious objects. But more was to come. “This great ball is an armillary sphere which represents the globe of the earth,” he informed me.” To read an armillary sphere, you must familiarise yourself with its parts. The ring along the base is the horizon, the outermost ring is the meridian and the largest inner ring is the ecliptic ring. You can turn the sphere to trace the path that the sun will take on any particular day. The horizon ring will show the ascension of the sunrise and the ecliptic ring will reveal the elevation of the sun at noon.” The king’s ease in comprehending this extraordinary machine quite confounded me. I doubted that even my village priest would have understood how to use such an object. “You see why I have two gentlemen pensioners standing guard at my door,” he said. “Any one of these precious things would be worth the price of a fine London house. But my other pieces serve to delight the mind and the senses with the skill of the artist. Come over here to my desk.”
On the king’s desk stood a wonderful bowl of crystal with a gold cover set with five crystal discs surrounded by diamonds, rubies, emeralds and pearls. Next to it stood a cup of polished red jasper which glowed in the light. “This is the work of a master craftsman,” he said. “The slightest error would ruin the crystal. It is a treasure worthy of an emperor. And some of my other pieces are designed to illustrate the mysteries of faith by recreating scenes from the Bible.”
On a table with a green cloth stood a tree of coral flanked by the images of a man, a woman and a serpent surrounded by wild beasts all cunningly worked in silver. “Do you recognise this sculpture?” he asked me.
“Yes, Henry,” I exclaimed. “It is Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.”
“Such works of art inspire our souls to grow deeper in faith,” he instructed me. “Whenever we gaze upon them, we are reminded of the fall of humanity and our need of grace.”
The king stepped over to a cupboard draped with a crimson velvet cloth and pulled it away. There upon the shelves stood a splendid collection of gold and silver trenchers, bowls, goblets and candlesticks.
“This is my private dining service for whenever I dine alone or with a few guests here in my Privy Chamber.” He picked up a great gold cup with a cover and showed it to me. It was chased with a design of portcullises, fleurs de lis and roses. “These are the royal emblems of my House, and you will see them everywhere in my palaces,” he said. “The portcullis is the heraldic badge of the House of Beaufort. The fleur de lis is the emblem of the kings of France which is my title by right of descent from Queen Catherine of Valois and her son King Henry VI who was crowned in Paris. And the Tudor rose unites the white rose of York with the red rose of Lancaster.” Other pieces of plate were decorated with designs of oak leaves or stags.
“They are wonderful,” I said admiringly. “They are like the treasures of the Temple of Solomon.”
Henry beamed and answered smugly. “These are but a trifle. There are even greater stores of plate in my Jewel House at the Tower. I hear that they bear comparison with the royal treasures of France and Spain.”
Just then Master Weston approached Henry and made a bow. “The cardinal has arrived and wishes to speak to your Majesty upon an urgent matter.”
“Let the cardinal enter. Do not keep him waiting,” he replied. “I must return to business, Will. But you may inspect my treasures to your heart’s content. Would that I were so free to spend my time in the contemplation of beauty and artistry!”
Extract from "The Tudor Fool: My Life with Henry VIII."
Elizabeth Kelly
Book 3 in The Tudors Series
