The Royal Palace of Hatfield (1485) was a childhood home of Queen Elizabeth I, who held her first Council of State in the Great Hall in 1558.  In 1607 King James I exchanged it for Theobalds, the house of Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to James I.

Robert Cecil demolished three quarters of the original palace and built Hatfield House between 1607 and 1611. It is the Hertfordshire home of the 7th Marquess of Salisbury. The Great Hall, where the wedding will be held, is the surviving wing of the Royal Palace of Hatfield.  . For more information on Hatfield House, please go to www.hatfield-house.co.uk