thestuartkings:So, I was at Hampton Court Palace last night for the last ever Salacious Gossip tour.
thestuartkings:So, I was at Hampton Court Palace last night for the last ever Salacious Gossip tour. It was also the last chance to see ‘The Wild, the Beautiful and the Damned’ exhibition, which was taken down today according to the guide. I’d seen it before, but it was great to see all those beautiful paintings together again for one last time.It was exciting walking around the palace at night with only about thirty other people, including a guide dressed as a posh Georgian lady. The glass of champagne was a nice touch too. The tour concentrated on the Restoration and early Georgian court scandals, so obviously Rochester, Barbara Villiers, Nell Gwynne and Charles himself were featured heavily. Some parts of the tour actually made me blush, especially the reading of some of Rochester’s poetry, but not least when the guide told the ladies to pause in front of the huge portrait of Charles II (above) and consider the comparison Rochester had made between his sceptre and a part of his anatomy.I did want to giggle a few times but I was there on my own so I was trying to keep my composure! It was made worse because most of the other people there seemed to be sweet looking elderly couples. I wanted to say “you can’t say the "c” word in front of grannies!“ But they seemed to be enjoying it ;) -- source link
#charles ii#restoration