Houses of Power

Book excerpt: What was it like to live as a royal Tudor? Why were their residences built as they were and what went on inside their walls? Who slept where and with whom? Who chose the furnishings? And what were their passions? The Tudors ruled through the day, throughout the night, in the bath, in bed and in the saddle. Their palaces were genuine power houses - the nerve-center of military operations, the boardroom for all executive decisions and the core of international politics. 'Houses of Power' is the result of Simon Thurley's 30 years of research, picking through architectural digs, and examining financial accounts, original plans and drawings to reconstruct the great Tudor houses and understand how these monarchs shaped their lives.