Leeds Castle

Sunday, April 1st, 2007

Leeds Castle was absolutely beautiful. The driveway winds through an enormous garden full of flowers, trees, peacocks and ducks. The inside of the castle wasn't as fancy as I expected, and it seemed like it fit into its original time period which is believed to be as early as 856-860. Here are some notes that BU gave us before we went..

Lord Conway once described Leeds Castle as "The Loveliest Castle in the World." Over a millennium old, this ancient palace is still regarded as one of the most beautiful and romantic in England.

It is on a 500-acre estate in southeast England. The original structure is vanished, but it was rebuilt in stone by the Normans and has since been home to six medieval Kings and Queens of England. Henry VIII, the mot famous of all owners, extended large sums in enlarging and beautifying the whole range of buildings.

You actually enter the castle through the cellar and come up a staircase to get into the main castle. We went into Queen Catherine's bedroom, widow of Henry V at the age of 21. After marrying in secret Owen Tudor, she gave birth to their son Edmund and through his son began the Tudor dynasty. She was the last queen to hold the property to Leeds Castle.