Palace of Placentia

The Palace of Placentia was an English Royal Palace built by Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester in 1447, in Greenwich, on the banks of the River Thames, downstream from London. The Palace was demolished in the seventeenth century and replaced with the Greenwich Hospital (now The Old Royal Naval College) in the late seventeenth century. Humphrey was regent during the rule of Henry VI, and built the palace under the name Bella Court. In 1447, Humphrey fell out of favour with the new queen, Margaret of Anjou, and was arrested for high treason. He died in prison - Shakespeare says he was murdered - and Margaret took over Bella Court, renaming it the Palace of Placentia, sometimes written as the Palace of Pleasaunce. The Palace remained the...