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The palace was built, as Bella Court, by Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, regent to the child king Henry VI.  When the king married Margaret of Anjou Humphrey fell out of favour and died in prison in 1447.  Margaret took over Bella Court and renamed it the Palace of Placentia, under which name (derived from Latin for 'pleasant place to live') it was the main royal residence until the 1600s, though it was rebuilt by Henry VII, 1498 - 1504. 

The Civil War left it in a bad state and Charles II had the Tudor buildings demolished intending to build a sumptuous replacement.  But only the King’s House was built and the site was never again a royal residence. It remained empty until the Greenwich Hospital was built.

The dates 1440 - 1660 are approximate.