There is a long history of English kings occupying the site of Richmond Palace.
Richmond was called Shene in medieval times, and there was a royal manor there, Shene Manor. It was occupied by King Edward I and his descendants.
Edward I is buried in Westminster Abbey and is also known as "Edward Longshanks" and "The Hammer of the Scots". He is the English King who had Braveheart, William Wallace executed.
Edward I built many of the castles in Wales, such as the two you will see on the Rick Steves Best of England tour.
Shene Manor was inhabited by his son, Edward II, then Edward III who died at Shene, then Richard II. King Richard II's wife died while they were living there, so he tore it down to the ground in a fit of grief.
Next to build on that exact spot was King Henry V, building a great palace that he named Sheen Palace. It was later occupied by King Henry VI.
It later came into the possession of King Edward IV and his wife Elizabeth Woodville. It was her home after he died, as he left it to her in his will, for her lifetime. They were the grandparents of Henry VIII, the parents of his mother, Elizabeth.
Princess Elizabeth married Henry Tudor--King Henry VII--and their son was Henry VIII.
She is referred to as Elizabeth of York, helpful when you are trying to keep all the Elizabeths straight.
King Edward IV and his wife Queen Elizabeth Woodville are buried at Windsor in St. George's Chapel. (Go to the left of the altar and look for a black stone with gold letters and there they are.)
King Henry VII and his Queen Elizabeth (of York) are buried in Westminster Abbey.
Henry VIII is buried at Windsor in St. George's Chapel.
When Henry VII was living at Sheen Palace, there was a fire that destroyed some of the place. When he rebuilt it and made it more grand, he changed the name to Richmond Palace, as he was the Earl of Richmond (in Yorkshire) before becoming king.
He also changed the name of the manor and town from Sheen/Shene (spelled either way is correct) to Richmond.
Others who have spent time at Richmond palace:
Cardinal Wolsey--had apartments here, after giving Hampton Court Palace to King Henry.
Henry VIII and his wives; esp. Anne of Cleves as this was her residence after the divorce.
Mary I, as a child spent Christmas there and then as Queen on her honeymoon.
Elizabeth I--favorite residence and died here.
Shakespeare--During the reign of Elizabeth I, his theatre company performed plays at Richmond Palace.
James I
Charles I---After his beheading, Parliament sold the palace for scrap; it was broken up and the stone and fixtures sold off. What remained of the palace was destroyed during the English Civil War.
James II---ordered a partial rebuild to be used as a nursery. From this, there remains the Trumpeters' House (built around 1700); not open to the public.
One more tidbit--in the 1300's, Geoffrey Chaucer served as a yeoman/farmer/archer at Sheen in his youth. As a worker or servant.
The gate that is left of Richmond Palace marks a location where much history has taken place. To whomever takes an interest and goes there; I hope you enjoy knowing the history there, when you pause to see the gatehouse.
Mardee, you may be interested in this or not. Anyhow, my apologies for taking up way too much space on your thread with my post.
P.S. A scale model of Richmond Palace can be seen at the Museum of Richmond, in the Old Town Hall, Whittaker Avenue, north of Richmond Bridge.
And the shorter PDF version of Richmond's history:https://www.richmond.gov.uk/media/6334/local_history_richmond_palace.pdf
