A FAMILY AFFAIR
One of Britain’s Jacobean treasures, Hatfield House is an easy 20-minute train ride from central London, but spare a thought on your journey there for the two poor souls who, in 1786, carried a fragile model of a Chinese palace every step of the way from the capital. The intricate ivory construction is thought to have been a diplomatic present from the Emperor of China to King George III and is just one of the house’s numerous royal gems.
Hatfield boasts a long connection to the British monarchy. Most famously, Elizabeth I spent much of her childhood in the Old Palace, a wing of which remains today. It is the Tudor queen’s face that greets visitors as soon as they enter the house through the Marble Hall, thanks to the Rainbow Portrait that hangs there today.
Thought to
