Insights and behind the scenes from our palaces
Ambrose Rookwood and Sir Everard Digby: Lesser-known gunpowder plotters
30 January 2019
You might not have heard of Ambrose Rookwood and Sir Everard Digby. But their marks on the Tower of London can still be seen today.
Restoring Hillsborough's Courthouse Clock
18 January 2019
An exciting conservation project has been undertaken in Hillsborough. The courthouse clock - which stopped over 30 years ago - has been revived and is chiming once again. Our conservator David Orr was thrilled to discover the history of this important horological piece...
Conserving Queen Victoria's Jacket
21 December 2018
Behind the scenes with Textile Conservator Beatrice Farmer as she prepares a beautiful pink embroidered jacket, once owned by Queen Victoria, for display.
A Head in the Bloody Tower
04 December 2018
When I started my job at the Tower of London I fully expected to encounter extraordinary things every day. And true to form I was only onto my second week when a fragment of a wall painting on the upper floor of the Bloody Tower was revealed.
Lord of the Isles Tartan Suit worn by The Duke of Windsor
11 September 2018
September's Object of the Month is the spectacular Lord of the Isles Tartan Suit. This suit exemplifies the cutting-edge, fashion-forward, extravagant Duke of Windsor, and is one of two suits within the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection of tartan – the other being the Rothsay Tartan.
Happy Birthday Henry VIII
28 June 2018
On 28 June 2018, Henry VIII will celebrate his 527th birthday. From wherever he is watching. Our most famous Tudor monarch would no doubt have expected a decent seat in Heaven: most early modern rulers tended to believe they had a divinely sanctioned right to rule as they pleased, and Henry was a king who appointed himself as Supreme Head of the English Church.
Conserving a Victorian Child's Dress Worn for a Wedding
18 May 2018
A new addition to our Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, this velvet and silk child’s dress was worn to celebrate the wedding of the future Edward VII; Prince Albert Edward, the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Princess Alexandra of Denmark on 10 March 1863.
Kensington Palaces's Most Magnificent Clock
23 March 2018
Today, the room’s design centres around one object: an ornate, sculptured musical clock surmounted on a grand pedestal, called the 'Temple of the Four Great Monarchies of the World'. It was purchased by Princess Augusta in around 1743 and placed in this room soon after.
Astronomy at the Top of the White Tower
12 March 2018
The White Tower of the Tower of London has three square turrets and one that is circular. One of the most interesting uses for this circular turret took place in 1675 when it became Britain's first temporary royal observatory.