Hampton Court Palace is most famous as the home of Henry VIII. But, as Gareth Russell shows in his vividly told history The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of History at Hampton Court (William Collins), it boasts many more fascinating personalities and stories than just the much-married monarch. Most interesting are the lesserknown characters and events, from waspish Georgian courtier Lord Hervey to the role that the palace played in the grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey. I’ve worked at Hampton Court for 15 years, but reading this felt like walking its corridors and courtyards for the first time.