This weekend Hampton Court is celebrating the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s coronation with a musical extravaganza, masterminded by prog-rock god Rick Wakeman. The former Yes keyboard player will be performing his 1973 album The Six Wives of Henry VIII in full for the first time, and in true prog tradition the show is going to be bursting with costumes, special effects and plenty of solos. He spoke to WILL GORE about bringing The Six Wives up to date, Brian Blessed and committing treason.

So you are bringing The Six Wives of Henry VIII to Hampton Court - how did it come about? They approached me. Back in 1972 I had wanted to do it there but they wrote to me and said what I suggested was tantamount to treason, but things have changed an awful lot down there with the Royal Palaces. They have the festival in the courtyard but I think this will be the first time anything has been done out in front of Henry’s Gate.

The show is an enormous production - did you have to twist a few arms to get everything you wanted? I’ve learned over the years that to get what you want, you need to ask for a lot more. You know it will get watered down and you act disappointed, but really you walk out with a grin on your face. We had a big meeting at Hampton Court and I stood up and read my list and said I would like, apart from my seven piece band, a full symphony orchestra, a chamber choir, Brian Blessed to narrate, for it to be projected and, for when people arrive, hog roasts and jugglers to be going on. I went through this ridiculous list and sat down and waited for them to say: “No, you’re off your head”, but Keith Morris, who is the main guy in charge of events at Hampton Court, said: “I think all of that is manageable”. I thought, this isn’t how it normally works!

How will you be bringing the original album up to date? We’ve done watered down versions of some the tracks live before but we have never played the whole album before. I wanted to keep all the original flavour and sound of the original but bring it into the 21st century. The original album had the six wives on it and I always wanted to do a track for Henry. It was earmarked to be called Defender of the Faith, the title the Pope gave him, but those were the days of vinyl when you could only fit 30 or 40 minutes on, top whack. So, as well as extending the solos we’ve done the piece for Henry, an overture and a piece called Tudor Rock that will be the encore.

How important is historical accuracy to the project? I love myths, legends and history. There are lots of fantasies and stories about Henry and the wives - some of them true and some untrue. I like things that are potentially real that you can go back and revisit. The music was never intended to follow the lives of the wives. I aimed to be the equivalent of a surreal artist - I read as much as I could about them and they inspired the songs that are sketches of them.

Is this the biggest show you’ve ever done? I’ve done some whoppers in my time - this is really different in every way because it is so associated with one thing, from the venue to the music. There about 1,000 people coming from abroad, including from Japan, Australia and America. I’ve always said prog and glam are inextricably entwined whether they like or not. You can’t do something like this without it being a spectacle - so of course I will be dressing up and there will be heraldic trumpeters because that’s what it should be. It’s a kitchen sink job that has to be theatrical and magical. I want people to go away saying: “What a great night!”

The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, May 1-2, from £49.50, 6.30pm, ticketline.co.uk, 0844 888 9991