During Henry VIII's time, Whitehall Palace was a main royal residence. Sadly, however, little of it remains today. It was originally part of York Place, the great London residence of Cardinal Wolsey. On his fall from power in 1530, Henry VIII acquired the residence and redesigned and added on to it, replacing Westminster Palace as the main London residence.

In 1533 Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn secretly here, and in 1536 did the same with Jane Seymour.

The palace was expanded so much by the 1600's that it was the largest palace in Europe (and for a time the world). Much of the Tudor portion of the building was destroyed by fire in 1691. All that remains of the building today is the Banqueting Hall, not part of the original Tudor Palace.

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