From gruesome ghost tours to spooky sleepovers, Historic Royal Palaces has something for everyone this Halloween.
An LGBT+ tour of the Tower of London by night that explores power, politics and sexuality at key moments in the Tower’s history. For age 16yrs+
Culture Breaks is a unique holiday experience for history and food fans. Visit the extraordinary historic palaces and explore the theme of royal food and drink in style.
The gates to the Tower of London are locked; those inside must answer to us all. Their wealth is our austerity, our poverty and tax. But they are few and we are many. We brought this revolt to their door and I ask you now: Do you have what it takes to make history?
From her first public appearances in 1981, Diana, Princess of Wales, captivated the world’s attention as a princess, as a trendsetter and as a patron and advocate of charities. Twenty years on from her death, a new exhibition and temporary garden celebrating her life will be opened at Kensington Palace, her home for over 15 years.
Step back into 1299 and the palace of King Edward I, Hammer of the Scots. Travel back in time to a world of chivalrous knights and beautiful ladies, troublesome lords and royal prisoners. There are money problems at home, too, as the King leads his armies off to war.
Sit under the beautiful ceiling painted by Sir Peter Paul Rubens and test your knowledge on current affairs, sport, art, food and film.
There will be a few rounds for the history lovers but plenty of other subjects as well, so pick your team wisely for this fun, fast-paced quiz, with prizes, drinks and some surprises!
Tables are arranged for 8 team members. If your group is smaller than 8 people, you will be placed with other individuals to make up teams.
Death, disease, love and loss – explore 300 years of secrets on a spooky tour through the shadowy world of Kensington Palace after dark.
Spend Christmas with King Richard III, Queen Anne Neville, and the knights and ladies of medieval England.
Jesters and minstrels add to the entertainment.
Not just a prison and a fortress, the Tower was a palace fit for royal celebration.
But will it be a winter of discontent?
Travel back in time to Elizabethan England and the Tudor court in 1592 as Hampton Court Palace celebrates the festive season in royal style.
Queen Elizabeth I is in attendance with her court, promising live drama, historic cookery, and musical performance.
Royal Armouries, the national museum of arms and armour and Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity that cares for the Tower of London, are working to transform part of the top floor of the White Tower into Armoury in Action, a family friendly offer revealing the fascinating story of arms and the armoury at the Tower. From shooting arrows, assembling firearms to brandishing swords, a thousand years of history at the Tower of London will be brought to life in this exciting, hands-on experience.
Explore the weapons, skills and people from the Norman to Victorian period through a mix of historic objects, audio visual displays and hands-on interactive stations; a truly engaging experience for all the family.
The White Tower was constructed under William the Conqueror’s orders and a Norman master mason explains the building of the White Tower, a fortress which towered over London for centuries and has become one of the UK’s most prominent landmarks. A medieval longbowman explains the different types of arrows. Have a go at drawing back a bow to feel the strength and training required to shoot this powerful weapon. Find out more about the skill of the armourers at the Tudor court and have a go at dressing Henry VIII in his armour. Henry VIII’s beautifully ornate armours are on display at the Tower, almost 500 years after they were made!
An English Civil War artillery captain guides visitors through the process of firing a cannon, where they can have a go themselves on a half-sized replica. Follow a Napoleonic War training manual while sharpening sword skills against cabbages in an immersive AV interactive. Finally a Victorian Superintendent of Firearms from the Ordnance Office invites families to design their own musket and choose which technological developments might improve their results at target practice. Friendly mouse characters guide younger children through the centuries from Norman to Victorian.
Learn the secrets of the past and present royal worship from the chaplains responsible for the religious wellbeing of the royal family with a talk at Kensington Palace and exclusive tours of the private royal chapels at St. James’s Palace and The Tower of London.
Explore the development of the festive shopping period - from window displays and advertising to the gifts given and received by Queen Victoria at Christmas time – in this special Brunchtime lecture with historian Professor Mark Connelly.
Tickets: £15 / £12 Historic Royal Palaces members, including a glass of bucks fizz
Experience a magical Victorian Christmas at Kensington Palace, the childhood home of Queen Victoria.
The palace will be dressed for the occasion, and there’ll be live Christmas themed musical performances and the chance to take part in a drop-in lantern-making workshop.
A sure fire way to get you and your family in the festive mood!
Glide around Hampton Court’s famous ice rink, with the palace’s iconic Tudor facade providing a suitably magnificent backdrop to this magical riverside setting.
Tickets: £13.50 Adults / £11.50 Students, Concessions & 12 – 16 years / £9.50 Under 12s / £38.00 Family
The ice rink returns to the famous dry moat at the Tower of London, providing one of the country’s most atmospheric skating destinations.
Skate in the heart of the City while enjoying the majestic views of the Tower, before heading to the on-site café for warming refreshments!
Join the Tower’s Yeoman Warders on an exclusive twilight tour of the Tower. Take in world famous sights such as Traitor’s Gate, the scaffold site and the Bloody Tower, and be appalled and amazed by tales of prisoners and past residents.
Discover more about the prominence of Victorian storytellers and forms like penny dreadfuls, novels and serials with author and great-great-granddaughter of Dickens, Lucinda Hawksley.
After two sold out runs NIGHTWATCHERS will return to the Tower of London November 2016.
After-hours this place is off limits to most people, but not to us Operative 341. This will be your patch. The people here, your business…
NIGHTWATCHERS is an after-hours immersive experience at the Tower of London, directed by award-winning digital theatre company ANAGRAM.
Step into a shadowy world of state surveillance, where messages and phone calls lead you around one of our most notorious prisons; this is your induction into the art of covert investigation. The story dips between contemporary London and the most dramatic years of the Elizabethan secret service.
While faith, violence and the invisible lines between truth and justice collide, you must find your way, guided by the stories of code-breakers, law enforcers and radical religious extremists.
In a climate of global insecurity, who watches the watchers?
http://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/whats-on/nightwatchers/#gs.WA0APOU
Join Hampton Court Palace for a 1¾ - 2 hours evening walking tour hearing stories of ghostly apparitions and paranormal activity at Hampton Court Palace.
From a hopeful shy prince to a confident and unrestrained monarch; married, crowned and defied by the royal council, discover the makings of the Henry VIII we know today in this evening talk and drinks reception
Could you pull rotten teeth or diagnose the King’s illness?
Join the Tudor Court as an apprentice for the dirty jobs needed to make sure the palace runs smoothly, and discover the mad, bad and awful side of Hampton Court’s history.
Pick up a challenge map and unlock the secrets of the royal gardens of Hampton Court Palace through quiz questions, eye spy and have a go in this exciting outdoors challenge!
This popular creative collaboration between Historic Royal Palaces and Art Macabre returns to the Tower of London, inviting adults of all abilities to use drawing to explore stories from the Tower’s remarkable 1,000 year history.
From stolen crowns to haunting sounds, draw and explore the past and be immersed in eerie atmosphere of the Tower at night.
Learn about the Great Pagoda’s historical and architectural significance and the wider fashion for Chinoiserie in the Georgian period, with experts from HRP and the Royal Pavilion. Immerse yourself in the art of japanning and lacquer work in a hands-on demonstration, and tour the 18th-century sites of Kew Gardens.
Ticket includes all lectures, tea/coffee, a sandwich lunch, exclusive access to Kew Palace, entrance to Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and a guided tour in the gardens.
Through music, movement, messy play and more, you and your little one will be transported into a magical world of stories. Discover the palace together guided by a specialist facilitator.
Selected Thursdays and Saturdays in October and November
Hampton Court Palace
Selected Wednesdays and Saturdays in October and November
Kensington Palace
Explore and play in the palace together! Discover tales of the palace’s past in these multi-sensory sessions for under 5s.
Fashion Rules: Restyled expands Kensington Palace’s glimpse into the era-defining fashion choices of three of modern history’s most stylish royals.
From the ‘New Look’ glamour of Princess Margaret in the 1950s to the elegance of HM The Queen in the 1970s and the tailored drama of outfits created for Diana, Princess of Wales in the early 1990s, the display continues to explore how these women navigated the fashion ‘rules’ defined by their royal duties in unique style.
http://www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/visit-us/top-things-to-see-and-do/fashion-rules/#gs.ExaWWkM
England’s greatest medieval fortress is under attack! Join costumed interpreters to relive the life and death struggles to overcome its mighty defences. Shelter within the walls or discover which enemies have the power to conquer the Tower, in this fun-filled family activity.
