Recent History
After the reign of George II, no monarch ever resided at Hampton Court. In fact, George III, from the moment of his accession, never set foot in the palace; he associated the state apartments with a humiliating scene when his grandfather had once struck him following an innocent remark.
In 1796, the Great Hall was restored and in 1838, during the reign of Queen Victoria, the restoration was completed and the palace opened to the public. The heavy-handed restoration plan at this time, reduced the Great Gatehouse (A), the palace's principal entrance, by two stories and removed the lead cupolas adorning its four towers.
On 2 September 1952, the palace was given statutory protection by being grade I listed. Other buildings and structures within the grounds are separately grade I listed, including the early 16th-century tilt yard tower – the only surviving example of the five original towers; Christopher Wren's Lion gate built for Queen Anne and George I; and the Tudor and 17th-century perimeter walls.
Throughout the 20th century in addition to becoming a major London tourist attraction, the palace housed 50 grace and favour residences given to esteemed servants and subjects of the crown. It was an elderly recipient of one such grace and favour apartment who caused a major fire, which spread to the King's Apartments in 1986. This led to a new programme of restoration work which was completed in 1990.
The Royal School of Needlework moved to premises within the Palace from Princes Gate in Kensington 1987, and the Palace also houses the headquarters of Historic Royal Palaces.
From 27 to 28 October 2005 an informal European Council meeting took place at the palace.
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