The Chairman is appointed by The Queen on the advice of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
Four Trustees are appointed by The Queen and three are ex officio appointments: The Director of the Royal Collection; The Keeper of the Privy Purse; and The Lord Chamberlain. The Lord Chamberlain may choose to relinquish his appointment in which case, the Queen may also appoint someone to take his place.
The remaining seven are appointed by the Secretary of State. Two are ex officio appointments; The Constable of the Tower of London and The Chairman of Historic Royal Palaces' Campaign Board.
The appointments are part-time and unpaid. Trustees who are not "ex officio" are appointed for three years. Trustees are carefully selected for their skills and experience to support Historic Royal Palaces’ work.
The Chief Executive, Michael Day, is accountable to the Board of Trustees for the performance of Historic Royal Palaces and ultimately to Parliament for the public assets in our care. He chairs an Executive Board of eight directors.