Insights and behind the scenes from our palaces
The Dress Codes of Diana, Princess of Wales
08 August 2025
Collections Curator Matthew Storey traces Diana, Princess of Wales's style journey through the words of four of her designers, and the extraordinary pieces in the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection.
Life, death and worship in the Tower of London, Part II
21 July 2025
In the second post of a two-part series, Curator of Historic Buildings Alfred Hawkins explores what the major excavation at the Tower of London in 2025 might tell us about the chapel's history.
Life, death and worship in the Tower of London, Part I
21 July 2025
Curator of Historic Buildings Alfred Hawkins explains the results of continued analysis of a 2019 excavation at the Tower of London, and what they can tell us about the Tower community.
Catherine Howard's proclamation as Queen, Hampton Court, 1540
11 July 2025
Hampton Court is linked to every phase of Catherine Howard's career. But less well known is how Hampton Court birthed Catherine’s tenure as Queen of England.
'Trooping the Colour': The history of the King’s birthday parade
20 June 2025
Jemima Hubberstey, Research Officer at Historic Royal Palaces, explores the history of royal birthday traditions.
Inside the Tudor queens' baggage train
30 May 2025
What did the Tudor queens take on their travels, and what can it tell us about the real women behind the titles? Post-Doctoral Researcher Kirsty Wright investigates.
The rise and fall of Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset
09 May 2025
Historian Gareth Russell picks up the tale of a scandal that no one had foreseen when the inoffensive Robert Carr arrived at James VI's court.
St George and the Tudors
23 April 2025
St George’s Day was already well established by the Tudor period, but the Tudor monarchs saw something more in this patron saint – the perfect symbol to bolster their shaky claim to the throne.
The death of Henry VII and the delayed accession of Henry VIII
21 April 2025
On 21 April 1509, Henry VII died aged 52 in his private apartments at Richmond Palace. But officials waited two days to tell the strapping young man that he was now King. Why?