Leeds Castle is one of the most romantic and most ancient castles in the Kingdom. In the 9th century, this was the site of a manor of the Saxon royal family. Listed in the Domesday Book, this castle has been a Norman stronghold, a royal residence to six of England's medieval Queens, a playground and palace to Henry VIII and a private home.

Today, lovingly restored and now administered by the Leeds castle Foundation, it is home to a magnificent collection of medieval furnishings, paintings, tapestries and treasures. This is the place where visitors of the present meet with lives of the past.

The crowning glory of this most English of castles is its setting. On two small islands in the midst of an encircling lake, surrounded by a green arc of parkland, thick with trees and hills that tumble gently down to the waters edge. Within the 500 acre park, there are woodland walks, lakes and waterfalls, gardens and greenhouses. And so many glorious castle views. Kings and Queens and seasons may change, but Leeds Castle enchanting and very English beauty is lasting, whatever the time of the year.

The castle was first built in stone by Norman barons nearly 900 years ago to overawe the English. On Edward I's accession, it was conveyed to the Crown, and for the next three centuries was a royal palace; fortified, enlarged, enriched and much loved by successive English Kings and Queens.

Love, romance and happiness have been in the air at Leeds Castle down the centuries; certainly for Queen Eleanor of Castile, Catherine de Valois and Henry VIII, the most celebrated of all the owners.