Historical authenticity and interpretive strategy at Hampton Court Palace

To mark the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession, the Tudor palace at Hampton Court in the UK was re-interpreted by a team of interpreters and curators from Historic Royal Palaces. in this article, one of the lead curators reflects on the process. Creating a new visitor experience raised questions about what it means to be authentic in a historic site, and whether interpreters need to choose between authenticity and visitor engagement. The article considers nineteenth-century answers to the question, some real case-study examples from the 2009 re-interpretation, the interpretative principles that were chosen, and some early indicators of success.