Insights and behind the scenes from our palaces
'Castles of the air': Defending the Tower of London during the Second World War
10 November 2025
When London faced the fury of the Blitz during the Second World War, the Tower of London found a new way to protect the city from the sky – a huge hydrogen-filled 'barrage balloon'.
'Buried Among Kings': Hampton Court and the Coffin of the Unknown Warrior
11 November 2024
On 11 November 1920 the Unknown Warrior was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey, in a coffin said to have been made of Hampton Court oak.
The explosive wartime history of the Kew Pagoda
06 June 2023
One of the most surprising periods in the history of the Great Pagoda is its use as a secret testing site during World War II. Curator Polly Putnam picks up the tale of this fascinating discovery.