Notes to editors
For further information on the Tower of London or the role of Constable, please contact the Press Office
Tel: 020 3166 6166     
E-mail: press@hrp.org.uk
For MoD media enquiries please contact the MoD Press Office on 0207 218 2661.

Generic Historic Royal Palaces images can also be viewed and downloaded immediately and for free by registering on the website hrp.newsteam.co.uk

Background
• The Constable of the Tower of acts as a Trustee of both Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity that runs the Tower of London and the four other unoccupied palaces, and the Royal Armouries, the guardian of the national collection of arms and armour which has one of its four bases within the Tower.  In addition to formal Trustee meetings, the Constable attends ceremonial and social events at the Tower and chairs bi-annual meetings of the Constable’s Fund and Choral Foundation, non-public charitable trusts.  The Constable is also required to be present when a member of the Royal Family or a Cabinet Minister visits the Tower of London.
• William the Conqueror appointed the first Constable, Geoffrey de Mandeville, in the eleventh century. 
Recent holders of the position are:
General Sir Roger WHEELER  August 2001 – July 2009
Lord INGE  August 1996 – July 2001
Sir John STANIER  August 1990 – July 1996
Sir Roland GIBBS  August 1985 – July 1990
Sir Peter HUNT  June 1980 – July 1985
•  As well as being one of the most honourable positions in the Crown's service, the Constable of the Tower was once one of the most profitable.  Perks of the job included any horses, oxen or pigs and sheep that fell off London Bridge and every ship that came upstream to the city had to moor at Tower Wharf to unload a portion of its cargo for the Constable - these included oysters, mussels, cockles, rushes and wine.  This tradition is still upheld at the Ceremony of the Constable's Dues every year when one large Royal Navy ship that visits the Port of London delivers a barrel of rum to the Constable on Tower Green. 
• General Dannatt was commissioned into the Army in 1971 as a member of the Green Howards. He will be replaced as Chief of the General Staff later this summer by General Sir David Richards KCB CBE DSO, currently Commander in Chief Land Forces.

Historic Royal Palaces
Historic Royal Palaces is the independent charity that looks after the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, the Banqueting House, Kensington Palace and Kew Palace.  We help everyone explore the story of how monarchs and people have shaped society, in some of the greatest palaces ever built. We receive no funding from the Government or the Crown, so we depend on the support of our visitors, members, donors, volunteers and sponsors. These palaces are owned by The Queen on behalf of the nation, and we manage them for the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. We believe in four principles.  Guardianship: giving these palaces a future as long and valuable as their past. Discovery: encouraging people to make links with their own lives and today’s world.  Showmanship: doing everything with panache. Independence: having our own point of view and finding new ways to do our work. Registered charity number 1068852