Insights and behind the scenes from our palaces
Embracing two worlds: Conserving Bi-cultural heritage with a rare Japanese court suit
14 March 2025
Textile Conservator Kaori Motaung shares her experience conserving a rare Japanese court suit from the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection.
500 years of the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula
19 September 2020
Assistant Curator of Historic Buildings Alfred Hawkins introduces some of the extraordinary stories surrounding the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula, the little Tudor church at the heart of the Tower of London.
Excavations at the Tower of London's chapel
21 October 2019
Historic Buildings Curator Alfred Hawkins explains the process of archaeological excavations, and their importance in expanding our current understanding of historic sites like the Tower of London.
Why we need to stop looking for sex: letters and LGBT+ royal history
25 February 2019
'How do you know?' I've been asked this a lot recently when I've been talking about LGBT+ royal history. I'm glad to be asked it, because it gets to the heart of studying LGBT+ identities in the past. In this post, I'd like to talk about the evidence and assumptions, which tell us a lot about sexuality in the past, and today.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Peasant's Revolt, 1381: The only time the Tower of London was breached
28 September 2017
In June 1381, the Tower of London fell, not to an army of knights, archers and engineers, but to a force of lower-class rebels. The so-called 'Peasant’s Revolt' was sparked by a new tax - the third in four years - that took no account of individual wealth.
Beating the Bounds: A centuries-old tradition
19 May 2017
On the evening of Ascension Day, a group from every parish and various governing bodies in England used to walk around the parameters of their land. Each boundary post would be beaten to mark it out in the minds of the younger generations and the clergy would pray for the land along the way. This tradition was known as Beating the Bounds.