Historians have uncovered graffiti dating back centuries in Hampton Court Palace, the former home of King Henry VIII.
The discovery was made hidden beneath the wall panelling in the Prince’s Lodgings while conservation work was being undertaken.
The drawing shows a man wearing a period coat and headwear, and carrying an arrow, with the date 1626 scrawled underneath it.
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James Shemmonds, Assistant Curator of Historic Buildings, shared the incredible find in a video which garnered 289,000 views.
In the clip, shared with What’s The Jam, he says: “We are possibly the first people to see this in hundreds of years.
“We’re here in the Prince’s Lodgings at Hampton Court Palace – rooms which were originally commissioned by King Henry VIII in 1537 for his son, the future King Edward VI.
“Hidden behind the panelling in this room, we were excited to discover some graffiti, which includes a man wearing what appears to be a 16th-century coat and a hat or helmet.
“In the figure’s hand appears to be an arrow, and beside it is a date which appears to say 1626.
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“We’re going to be carrying out some scientific analysis on it and hope to find out more information.”
The shocking find garnered much attention online, with one viewer commenting: “Omg I love Roman graffiti but this is a whole other level.”
“So drawing on walls before decorating is not a relatively new thing,” another user wrote.
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Someone else added: “Wouldn’t it be cool if it were discovered to have been drawn by Edward V?”
“Children, drawing on bedroom walls since the 1600s,” another person joked.
Another user wrote: “It’s great to see something that was hand-drawn, maybe from a child centuries ago.”
