Jousting at Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace hires jousters for their summer events. Riding in the tiltyard at Henry VIII's palace, where Tudor jousting actually happened, is as close as you get to time travel in this job.

The venue

Hampton Court has a tiltyard. An actual, historical tiltyard where Henry VIII watched tournaments in the 1500s. The palace is right there. The gardens are right there. The Thames is right there.

The performance

Full jousting display for the public. Families, tourists, people who came to see the palace and discovered there were blokes on horses hitting each other with sticks.

What makes it different

Most jousting events happen at country shows or castle ruins. Hampton Court is a working royal palace. The production standards are higher. The historical connection is direct. You are jousting in a place where jousting happened, for a real reason, five hundred years ago.