Sleep like a Tudor king in one of Henry VIII’s castles

Leeds Castle
Leeds Castle

Thornbury Castle
Gloucestershire

Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn slept in what is now the Duke’s Bedchamber at Thornbury during a honeymoon tour of the West Country in 1535. The castle was at the time relatively new — completed in 1521 by Edward Stafford, the Duke of Buckingham. Shortly after finishing the construction, however, the Duke fell out of favour and was subsequently accused of treason and beheaded, while Henry confiscated the castle. Thornbury is a splendid Tudor retreat, replete with tall, corkscrew chimneys and pokey turrets with mullioned windows. The Duke’s Bedchamber is in an octagonal room with a fireplace and a grand four-poster draped in pink flowing fabric. There’s also a grand Tower Suite reached by a spiral staircase of 77 stone steps, plus