For those who make an annual pilgrimage to RHS Chelsea Flower Show but would like to experience something truly unique in 2026, visit the Hampton Court Palace Tulip Festival in April when Henry VIII’s majestic Palace on the River Thames is brimming over with tulips. Acclaimed as ‘Britain’s Largest and Greatest Tulip Heritage Garden at the World Tulip Summit in 2024, experience the beauty of over 110,000 bulbs erupting in joyful colour…
You’ll have to remind yourself that you’re not in the Netherlands when you see the blooming tulip displays spilling from Tudor wine fountains, vintage horse carts, or the floating bowls in the Great Fountain Garden. This is the ultimate way to celebrate one of the world’s most beloved flowers, forever associated with the arrival of spring. With 60 acres of formal gardens within 750 acres of historic parkland, appreciate the beauty and variety of historic and contemporary planting across the world-renowned palace gardens.
Hampton Court Palace Gardens have impressed royalty and their visitors for centuries.
One of Britain’s most glorious tributes to horticulture the palace’s spectacular formal gardens include the world’s oldest puzzle maze, pristinely clipped evergreen topiary and statues belonging to the restored Privy Garden (a recent Bridgerton filming location), a carefully-researched recreation of William III’s private Baroque garden of 1702; the fragrant Rose Garden, and the wide open spaces of the Wilderness within the immense parkland.
Planting over 100,000 tulip bulbs is an enormous undertaking involving the entire team of 42 Hampton Court Palace gardeners, each of whom play their part in the process, the planning of which begins 12 months ahead of the Tulip Festival. From choosing colour schemes and designing the layout, to choreographing the planting itself which is undertaken before Christmas, this immense horticultural operation remains hugely rewarding for the team when the tulips bloom in springtime and they get to see the delight of visitors who often travel from far and wide.
While the Great Vine Border displays offer a mix of orange and pinks inspired by the colours of the Palace’s red brick architecture, often the flower displays closest to the building are the most dramatic. Head Gardener Graham Dillamore’s favourite part of the displays are the courtyards, “To see the flowers when you turn a corner – in places where you least expect them is very exciting,” while the variety he particularly loves are the paeony-flowered tulips with their vibrant colours and sturdy heads.
Visitors will also have the chance to learn about the history of the tulip with rare, historic and specialist varieties on display in the Lower Orangery, some of which date back more than four centuries like the striking Duc Van Tol Red and Yellow, the oldest variety on show, first recorded in 1595. Tulips were first introduced to the Hampton Court Palace Gardens by former resident, Queen Mary II who ruled jointly with William III, nicknamed the ‘Prince of Orange’ in the Netherlands.
Queen Mary II collected plants from across the globe to feature in the palace gardens, not least the prized tulip which became hugely fashionable following the so-called ‘Tulipmania’ of the 1630s. When William and Mary moved to Hampton Court in 1689 at the beginning of their reign, the king expanded the palace gardens and imported a huge quantity of plants, including tulips which Mary not only enjoyed seeing in the grounds, but desired as cut flowers to adorn their new baroque residence, whom they had commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to design.
Believed to have been King Henry VIII’s favourite royal residence due to him spending more time there than any other property during the second half of his reign, Hampton Court Palace can be reached in as little as 40 minutes from central London, with visits of three hours or more recommended in order to take full advantage of the extraordinary tulip displays in the gardens and the building itself, the oldest Tudor palace in England, whose interiors include the famous Tudor Kitchens which fed around 600 court members a day,
If you’re unable to catch the tulips this April, mark the Hampton Court Palace Garden open days during spring and summer in your diary (14 & 15 March, 9 & 10 May and 12 & 13 September) when the Palace gardens will be open to visitors free of charge (not including the maze and magic garden which require a separate ticket) and better still, no pre-booking required to allow you to enjoy the gardens on a fine day.
Hampton Court Palace Tulip Festival 2026 at Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey, KT8 9AU, from 11th April 2026. Included in the standard palace admission charge. The palace’s expert gardeners predict that the tulips will be in full bloom from 11- 26 April, but follow their social media accounts or check the website for the latest updates. For more information on planning your visit please see the website. Photography by Richard Lea-Hair.