Oatlands Palace

Much of the foundation stone for the palace came from Chertsey Abbey, which was abandoned and fell into ruins after the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the Protestant Reformation in England.

The palace was built around three main adjoining quadrangular courtyards covering fourteen hectares and using an existing 15th-century moated manor house.

Records of her writings include a letter sent from Oatlands to her brother, William, Lord Parr, shortly after her marriage to the King in July 1543.

The announcement of the move to Oatlands (which was considerably smaller than Hampton) ended any hope at court of a happy outcome to the Queen's pregnancy.

[12] She built a silkworm house and a vineyard, and employed Inigo Jones to design an ornamental gateway from the Privy Garden to the Park.

[16] Her art collection at Oatlands included portraits of her Danish nephews, her courtiers Jean Drummond, Mary Middlemore, and Tom Durie.

Her own portrait was painted by Paul van Somer, showing her with her horse, held by an African servant, hunting dogs around her feet, and the new gateway and the palace in the background.

[19] Despite this luxury, Anne of Denmark was sometimes bored or melancholy, and wrote to King James that she was "weary of Oatlands, of my mares, of my deer, of my dogs, and of my vineyard".

[20] The ambassador of Savoy, Antonio Scanese, Count of Scarnafes, arrived to visit Anne of Denmark at Oatlands on 3 October 1614.

At the end of the dinner there were sweetmeats, then they stood and toasted Elizabeth, Electress Palatine and Frederick V.[22] For such occasions, the under-keeper Ralph Dison borrowed furnishings from other palaces.

She used it as a country retreat, installing part of her art collection on site, employing Ralph Grynder to make new furnishings and John Tradescant the elder to remake the gardens.

It was awarded to his brother, Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington, who was later the admiral in command of the English and Dutch Fleets at the Battle of Beachy Head.

In November the following year Frederick and his brother the Prince of Wales hosted composer Joseph Haydn, who stayed for two days, played music for four hours each evening[31] and recorded in his second London notebook:

It is very large and contains many diversions, inter alia actual water that flows in from various sides, a beautiful English garden, various entrances and exits, besides a most charming bath.