Rick Wakeman will present his iconic work at the former home of King Henry XIII and the birthplace of the King James Bible

By Dan Wooding

In 1972, rock keyboard legend Rick Wakeman released one of the most iconic albums of all time, The Six Wives of Henry VIII. The album was a massive success all over the world and to date has sold more than 15,000,000 copies on both vinyl and CD.

But amazingly, the music has never been performed in its entirety, but all that is about to change.

Now comes the news from Rick’s website (www.rwcc.com), that on May 1 and 2, 2009, The Six Wives of Henry VIII will be performed in spectacular style on Hampton Court Palace’s West Front, to a limited audience of 5000 for each performance.

On stage, performing with Rick Wakeman, will be an expanded band, The English Chamber Choir, an orchestra and a guest narrator. There will also be dancers and side film screens.

In addition to The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Rick has also composed three additional pieces to perform that evening; Tudor Overture, Defender of the Faith and Tudor Rock.

“The whole event will be a ‘mock rock Tudor experience’ from the outset with a variation of tickets available, such as Platinum tickets which give access to Hampton Court Palace itself from 3.30pm and includes meet and greet and other special opportunities throughout the day,” said Rick website.

These will be the only performances of The Six Wives of Henry VIII anywhere in their entirety. You can find out how to be part of this unique and spectacular event by visiting the event website (www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtP...) for details on how to purchase tickets.

Hampton Court Palace, located in East Molesey, Surrey, by the side of the River Thames, was the home of Henry XIII. In 1514 Thomas Wolsey was made Archbishop of York and took up residence at Hampton Court. However, in 1528, Henry VIII forced Wolsey to surrender the ownership of the palace to him.

In 1604, the Palace was the site of King James I of England’s meeting with representatives of the English Puritans, known as the Hampton Court Conference; while agreement with the Puritans was not reached, the meeting led to James’s commissioning of the King James Version of the Bible.

© Assist News