A MYSTERIOUS figure snapped by a coach driver at a royal palace could be one
of Henry VIII’s wives, he believes.
Trevor Tye popped into Hampton Court after dropping off a coach-load of
tourists, to take a few pictures.
But it was not until he returned home to York that he noticed a white figure
at the top of the stairs in the public entrance.
Now he believes the apparition, which appears to be a girl or young woman,
could be the ghost of Catherine Howard.
Henry’s fifth wife was imprisoned at Hampton Court in 1541 before she was
beheaded at the age of 21, and her ghost has been said to haunt the elegant
palace.
Trevor, 45, said: “I didn’t even realise I had caught anything unusual
until I got home and a friend looked at some of my pictures and said, who is
that girl?”
“I couldn’t believe it as the room was completely empty when I took the
picture so I know that there is no way it is someone in the shot.
“I have had the picture examined by experts and everyone has said the
picture has not been tampered with at all, so for me the only explanation is
that it is a ghost.”
The
most disgusting drink on earth… Canadian cocktail contains a real human
TOE
Is
this spooky figure spotted in a church graveyard the ghost of local jockey?
When
swiping right goes wrong…these dating horror stories may put you off
Tinder for good
Trevor, who works for York Pullman Bus Company, sent the picture to Hampton
Court and was told a security guard had reported seeing the ghost of a young
woman or girl in the same spot several times.
Trevor said: “It is most definitely one of the best examples of a ghost
being caught on camera and I think this is especially true since the
security guard was able to confirm that he has seen the same figure too.
“I was very careful when taking the picture to ensure no one was in the
room – the last thing I wanted was someone ruining my shot.
“Unfortunately the vast majority of ghost pictures you see are faked so I
am really pleased to have caught something like this.”
The Hampton Court website claims that both Catherine and Henry’s third wife
Jane Seymour haunt the palace, as well as Sibell Penn, the Lady in Grey, and
a strange figure dubbed Skeletor, who was caught on CCTV in 2003.
It adds: “Over the centuries, staff, visitors, workmen and residents have
experienced strange phenomena for which there is often no practical
explanation.”
One room has been called the Haunted Gallery because of the numerous sightings
of Catherine, who is said to wear a white gown similar to the one seen in
Trevor’s picture.
Trevor said: “I don’t know who the ghost is, but it is either a young
woman or perhaps a girl of maybe 16 or 17. It is hard to make out the age of
her clothing but it doesn’t look modern.
“It looks like she is looking down and reading something on a stand in
front of her.
“I am not scared by the picture and would happily go back to Hampton
Court, but I doubt I’ll capture anything quite like this again.”