IT has been the home of exiled Romanov princes, an Indian princess who was a passionate suffragette, the widow of Lord Baden-Powell and the scientist who laid the foundations for modern electricity, but for most people, Hampton Court Palace is best known as the creation of the man who was arguably the first spin doctor.

The Tudor palace on the banks of the Thames near Richmond in Surrey, with its gates guarded by magical heraldic beasts, was built by Thomas Wolsey, who as a Cardinal of the Church and Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII, was the most powerful commoner in Tudor England. He spent vast sums on building his palace but, as his rise to pre-eminence was swift, so was his fall, and when he failed to secure a divorce for Henry to marry Ann Boleyn, he was ousted from power. His wealth, including the gem of Hampton Court, was wrested from him by the King and he died in disgrace.

From then, for over 200 years, the palace became the home to royalty. Henry VIII spent £62,000 (worth around £18m today) over ten years refurbishing the palace. By the time it was finished in 1540, it was one of the most modern palaces in England with tennis courts, a hunting park of 1,000 acres, kitchens covering 36,000 square feet and a lavatory that could seat 28 people. Sir Christopher Wren remodelled most of the palace for the Stuart monarchs but by the late 1700s it had fallen out of favour with royalty and when George III was told there was a fire in the outbuildings, he said he wouldn't be sorry if the whole lot burned down.

After the royals moved out, the palace was divided into 53 apartments and houses called "Grace and Favour" residences, allocated on the basis of service to the country. Many of the tenants were widows of the great and the good and there was a strict pecking order among the ladies.

This fascinating and little known part of the life of Hampton Court is portrayed in an exhibition, Suffragettes, Soldiers and Servants, which runs at the palace until March next year.

Lady Baden-Powell was often seen cycling around the palace grounds. Her apartment, or Hampers Hotel as she called it, was in the Great Kitchens and its bathroom was in a Tudor fireplace. Wilderness House, next to Hampton Court's famous maze, became a place of pilgrimage for exiled Russians when the Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandra, sister of the assassinated Tsar Nicholas II, was granted the residence by George V after she was rescued from the Bolsheviks. From the top floor, her Romanov grandsons would direct visitors lost in the maze to freedom.

Princess Sophia Duleep Singh lived at the Palace as a grace and favour resident until 1948 after her father, the Maharajah of the Punjab, surrendered the region to the British. She became a fanatical suffragette and, as a member of the Tax Resistance League, was fined several times and had her jewellery confiscated for withholding taxes. In fact, the grace and favour residences were such a hotbed of the Suffragette movement that, in 1913, the palace was closed to the public for seven months and extra policemen deployed there "owing to the fear of damage by women suffragists".

And there are some fascinating insights into the gossip and scandal of such a closed community. In May 1893, a Mrs Dalison wrote to the Lord Chamberlain about the indecorous behaviour of a fellow resident's servants. She complained: "Soldiers and Whatman, the Boatman's son, continually spend nights or long periods of time shut up with the maids in the attics."

Of course the Chamberlain would sometimes have to admonish the residents and in 1900 he commented that: "those decayed ladies are somewhat difficult to deal with - they all seek better things gratis".

But it seems age was no passport to favours. Miss Millicent Gordon holds the record for being the only grace and favour resident to live in the palace for over 100 years but, during that time, her apartment was never modernised or updated and never had a bathroom. In 1941 the housekeeper appealed on her behalf for the installation of a bath but it was refused and Miss Gordon endured her bathroom-less state until she died eight years later, aged 105.

Hampton Court Palace was opened to the public by Queen Victoria and, by the mid-19th century, up to 180,000 people were visiting each year. Apart from the palace itself, the 60 acres of formal gardens, including the Great Vine, planted by Northumberland's Capability Brown in 1768, and the world-famous Maze (which he wanted to destroy) are still a major attraction to tens of thousands of visitors. Covering a third of an acre with half a mile of paths, the Maze was planted in hornbeam in 1690 for William of Orange and, although much of the original hedging was replaced in the 1960s with yew, the centre is now being replanted again with hornbeam. More than 330,000 people go in and, eventually, out of the Maze every year.

Our grace and favour apartment and entry to Hampton Court came courtesy of the Athenaeum Hotel in Piccadilly, which has teamed up with Historic Royal Palaces to create a package fit for princes.

The package includes passes to the Tower of London, Kensington Palace State Rooms, Whitehall Palace and Hampton Court, so you don't have to queue to get in. And, there's no expiry date so, if it seems too much to fit in one visit, you can come back again.

Tickets to the Royal Academy of Art, only a few minutes walk from the hotel, are also included, so you can take in the latest exhibition during your stay.

The five-star Athenaeum, Cond Nash Traveller Magazine's top London hotel for the third year running, is right in the heart of Mayfair, with Knightsbridge and the theatre district conveniently on hand. It's the perfect location for a weekend in the city when time is at a premium, with the capital's top attractions within walking distance.

And, to make your stay even more relaxed, the hotel has 34 one and two-bedroom apartments where you can enjoy all the privacy of being behind your own front door, and yet use all the hotel's services, restaurants and bars. We found it a perfect solution to spending a family weekend away.

Our beautifully-furnished townhouse apartment would sleep four people and, with a spacious and comfortable sitting room, fully-appointed kitchen and luxurious bathroom, it was like home from home - only better. It's a very convenient and relaxed way to stay at a top hotel and, because you can cater for yourselves (there is a Marks & Spencer food outlet just round the corner) it can work out a pretty economic way as well.

And how else could you feel like a swanky Mayfair resident - if only for the weekend?

TRAVELFACTS

* Peta King and her family stayed at the Athenaeum Hotel Apartments, in Piccadilly. The Royal Experience Package, including Historic Royal Passes, costs from £325. The same package for two people staying in the hotel costs from £225 for a double or twin room. Tel: 020 7499 3464 or visit www.athenaeumhotel.com

* Hampton Court Palace is open daily. The exhibition, Suffragettes, Soldiers and Servants: Behind the Scenes of the Hampton Court Palace Community 1750-1950, runs until March next year. Tel: 0870 753 7777 or visit www.hampton-court-palace.org.uk

* They travelled with GNER which runs fast and frequent services from the North-East to London Kings Cross. GNER's new advance purchase single fares are available now. Prices start from £10 standard class single to London from Darlington or Northallerton, or £29.50 first class. To book, visit www.gner.co.uk, call Telesales on 08457 225 225 or visit any staffed National Rail station.