Support by volunteering

Would you like to join the team at Historic Royal Palaces and help us with our work?

Whether you could spare an afternoon each week or occasional hours we would value your support. In return, we can offer volunteers behind the scenes insights and a special intimacy with the palaces.

Visitors sitting in front of a huge tapestry

What do volunteers do?

Becoming a volunteer means you have the opportunity to participate at all levels and in a variety of different ways. Examples of roles that are currently carried out by volunteers are:

Hampton Court Palace

• Visitor Support Volunteers
• Clore Learning Centre Volunteers
• Retail Volunteers
• Garden Volunteers
• Garden History Volunteer Guides
• Conservation Records Volunteers
• Maze Volunteers
• Volunteer Room Describers
• Membership Volunteers

Tower of London

• Visitor Support Volunteers
• Temporary Exhibition Volunteers
• Maintenance and Facilities Volunteer

Kensington Palace

• Visitor Support Volunteers

Kew Palace and Queen Charlotte’s Cottage

• Visitor Support Volunteers
• Volunteer Room Describers

A vital link

We believe that volunteers provide an important link between the historic buildings in our care, our visitors and the local community. Volunteer support has a valuable role to play across all of the palaces within our care.

The use of volunteers complements the work of our staff and enables us to further enrich and enhance the visitor experience and to undertake projects that we would not normally be able to carry out. As an independent charity, we receive no funding from the government or the Crown, so the support of visitors, members and volunteers is crucial.

Developing your skills

We have recently launched a volunteering programme to extend the use of volunteers across the organisation. We would really like to encourage as many people as possible from the community to get actively involved in our work. Full training is given; many of our volunteers find that the skills they develop are useful in the wider job market.

How to apply

Please complete a Volunteer Registration form located at the bottom of the page.

The information that you complete on the registration form will enable us to match your skills and interests with volunteering opportunities within the organisation.

If you would like to provide any additional information which is not included on the form, please write this on a separate piece of paper and attach it to your form.

Send to Sarah Levine, Volunteer Manager at:
Human Resources Department
Historic Royal Palaces
Apartment 45
Hampton Court Palace
Surrey, KT8 9AU

Once your completed forms have been received, you will be invited in for an informal interview to discuss the opportunities and your interests in greater detail.

All Historic Royal Palaces’ Volunteers will require security clearance and CRB clearance. Relevant forms will be sent to you for completion with your volunteer agreement. Please note we will also take up two references.

In return for their time, volunteers are entitled to receive the following support and recognition:

• Reimbursement of travel by public transport (up to a maximum of £8 per day) or mileage (at the appropriate agreed HRP rates, capped at a maximum of 20 miles per round trip) incurred for travel to and from their volunteer location. A volunteer expenses claim form should be completed by volunteers and submitted to their supervisor/line manager.
• 10% discount will normally be available, when carrying out volunteer activities, on production of a volunteer pass, at the HRP catering outlets.
• 10% discount will normally be available, when carrying out volunteer activities, on production of a volunteer pass, at the HRP shops, subject to a minimum service qualification of 30 hours worked.
• Upon application, free individual entry to all Historic Royal Palaces' sites, subject to a minimum service qualification of 30 hours worked.
• Liability insurance is provided for all volunteers engaged in services for Historic Royal Palaces. Volunteers should satisfy themselves that any activities they carry out for Historic Royal Palaces will not contravene any personal insurances held by them.

Contact us

For further information on volunteering opportunities within Historic Royal Palaces or to request a volunteer pack, please contact Sarah Levine, Volunteer Manager, on 020 3166 6175 or email volunteers@hrp.org.uk