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Historic Royal Palaces blog

Insights and behind the scenes from our palaces

Triumph and tragedy: Thomas Cromwell's legacy at the Tower of London

06 December 2024

For Thomas Cromwell, hero of Wolf Hall, the Tower of London would be the scene of the start of his career and the end of his life. Here, Chief Historian Tracy Borman explores the Tower through the lens of Thomas Cromwell's rise and fall.

Whitehall Palace: Anne Boleyn's Favourite Residence

01 June 2016

On 1 June 1533 Anne Boleyn was crowned queen at Westminster Abbey. Anne processed from the Tower of London in a litter of white cloth of gold and wore fur trimmed purple robes on the day she finally became Henry VIII’s queen.

A Tudor wall under the White Tower

25 February 2016

Hundreds of years of history mean that simple building work at the Tower of London is never straight forward. Sometimes we don’t find very much, but during recent renovations to the White Tower shop we came across something we didn’t expect.

The Lost Tiltyard Tower at Hampton Court Palace

15 December 2015

Archaeologists at Hampton Court Palace have uncovered the remains of one of the palace’s famous five lost Tiltyard Towers. The discovery of this green-glazed tile floor has solved a three-hundred-year-old mystery.

Drilling for Dates

10 June 2014

People think I’m nuts because I love roofs. But not only are they among the best preserved parts of our palaces, they also hold secrets within them, and can reveal information which isn’t contained in any documents. The latest roof to receive treatment is the Great Watching Chamber. It is one of our most important Tudor roofs.