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Historic Royal Palaces blog

Insights and behind the scenes from our palaces

Medieval and Tudor Poets at the Tower

09 August 2024

What dramatic Tudor event might Sir Thomas Wyatt have drawn on for his poetry? And did you know Geoffrey Chaucer worked at the Tower of London?

Charles II and the Discovery of the 'Princes in the Tower' in 1674

17 July 2024

Tower of London Curator Charles Farris explores one of the most famous discoveries in the Tower’s history – a small chapter in the continuing mystery of the Princes in the Tower.

Edward I’s Santa Suit: Christmas in the Medieval Palace

10 December 2021

Curator Charles Farris explores how Edward I and his royal medieval court celebrated Christmas.

Queer Lives at the Tower: The LGBT+ Stories that were almost on the tours

07 February 2020

Queer Lives at the Tower, our new LGBT+ tours at the Tower of London are just a couple of weeks away, and the team are rehearsing to deliver a bold and new experience. However, there are some stories that didn’t quite make the cut. I’m going to tell you them here, to see what they tell us about how we work with LGBT+ history.

Excavations at the Tower of London's chapel

21 October 2019

Historic Buildings Curator Alfred Hawkins explains the process of archaeological excavations, and their importance in expanding our current understanding of historic sites like the Tower of London.

A Head in the Bloody Tower

04 December 2018

When I started my job at the Tower of London I fully expected to encounter extraordinary things every day. And true to form I was only onto my second week when a fragment of a wall painting on the upper floor of the Bloody Tower was revealed.

The Peasant's Revolt, 1381: The only time the Tower of London was breached

28 September 2017

In June 1381, the Tower of London fell, not to an army of knights, archers and engineers, but to a force of lower-class rebels. The so-called 'Peasant’s Revolt' was sparked by a new tax - the third in four years - that took no account of individual wealth.

Objects Unwrapped: A 13th-Century Condiment dish

15 December 2015

This small green-glazed ceramic dish was found during excavations near the Middle Tower at the Tower of London in the 1930s. It dates from the late 13th century and was possibly made at a pottery workshop in Kingston, just down the river from Hampton Court Palace.