The Hampton Court Estate dates back to before the 15th Century. The estate was originally formed by merging of the manors of Hampton Richard and Hampton Mappenor. It was granted by Henry IV to Sir Rowland Lenthall at the time of his marriage to Margaret Fitzalan, daughter of the Earl of Arundel and a cousin of the King. Lenthall built the original quadrangular manor house in 1427, twelve years after his knighthood at the battle of Agincourt. In 1434 he was granted a licence to crenellate the house by Henry IV. Sir Rowland was succeeded by his daughter who married the Baron of Burford and it was their grandson who sold Hampton to Sir Humphrey Coningsby in 1510. Cardinal Wolsey bought and transformed Hampton Court into a sumptuous Palace in the 1520s, but it was annexed by Henry VIII as the Cardinal fell out of favour (the official story is it was given as a gift).

Henry VIII rebuilt Hampton Court after his own tastes and entertained all six wives here, some making a brief visit, en route for the scaffold. A succession of later Kings and Queens transformed the Palace according to their tastes too, which accounts for the diverse styles. James I used Hampton Court for its excellent hunting in the park. Charles II used it for lodging his mistress(es).

After the 'Glorious Revolution' in 1689 which saw the rights of Catholics much curtailed, William III and Mary II commissioned Sir Christopher Wren to rebuild Hampton Court. Fortunately the work was not completed as they planned to demolish all of Henry VIII's additions. They did, however, build the sumptuous Kings and Queen's Apartments which are added on the back of Henry's buildings. King William Apartments are said to be amongst the finest and most important set of Baroque state apartments in the world and are still furnished with the original furniture and tapestries from 1700 when they were completed for the King. Henry's Great Hall and the Chapel Royal exist in their original form, as well as the Tudor Kitchens, which are beautifully laid out as if a feast was being prepared using all the food and utensils that would have been used in the 16th century. The Palace was eventually handed over to the Public by Queen Victoria.

Also worth seeing: the collection of renaissance paintings, including Mantegna's Triumphs of Caesar, Henry VIII's Astronomical Clock the 60 acres of gardens, including the famous Maze.

Open Summer 10:00-18:00, winter 10:00 -16:30. Full tickets, £10.50. Tel: 01568 797 777 for details or visit the website: www.hrp.org.uk )

Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying 'toxic dart' guns. Divers and surfers could be at risk from attack. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing.

Leo Sheridan, 72, a respected accident investigator who has worked for government and industry, said he had received intelligence from sources close to the US government's marine fisheries service confirming dolphins had escaped.

'My concern is that they have learnt to shoot at divers in wetsuits who have simulated terrorists in exercises. If divers or windsurfers are mistaken for a spy or suicide bomber and if equipped with special harnesses carrying toxic darts, they could fire,' he said. 'The darts are designed to put the target to sleep so they can be interrogated later, but what happens if the victim is not found for hours?'

Usually dolphins were controlled via signals transmitted through a neck harness. 'The question is, were these dolphins made secure before Katrina struck?' said Sheridan.

The mystery surfaced when a separate group of dolphins was washed from a commercial oceanarium on the Mississippi coast during Katrina. Eight were found with the navy's help, but the dolphins were not returned until US navy scientists had examined them.

Sheridan is convinced the scientists were keen to ensure the dolphins were not the navy's, understood to be kept in training ponds in a sound in Louisiana, close to Lake Pontchartrain, whose waters devastated New Orleans.

The navy launched the classified Cetacean Intelligence Mission in San Diego in 1989, where dolphins, fitted with harnesses and small electrodes planted under their skin, were taught to patrol and protect Trident submarines in harbour and stationary warships at sea.

Criticism from animal rights groups ensured the use of dolphins became more secretive. But the project gained impetus after the Yemen terror attack on the USS Cole in 2000. Dolphins have also been used to detect mines near an Iraqi port.