The Ceremony of the Keys, Tower of London

 So, on Friday evening I was in London to go to the Ceremony of the Keys , at the Tower of London. 

The Tower of London by Night

The Tower of London is of course the worlds best known combined bird house and safety deposit box, housing, at it doesn, some very pampered ravens and the Crown Jewels. 

There was a Roman wall and other structures there (and there are still some remains of the Roman wall nearby, by the Underground Station) , the WIlliam the Bastard had a castle built there in 1066, in the style known, I believe, as 'Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough, Saxon losers'. Various other bits and pieces have been added since, mostly between the 11th and 16th Centuries. It's still officially a Royal Palace (although not a Royal Residence)  and of course is ope as a tourist attraction during the day. 

However, after it is closed for the night, you can still, if you have snagged a ticket, attend the ceremony of the keys. THis is something (the ceremony, not the ticketed attendance) which has been going on for the last 700 years. Allegedly, King Edward III turned up unannounced at the Tower one evening in 1340 and was able to walk in, unchallenged, and was a bit miffed at the lack of proper security (Presumably it did not occur to him that, just possibly, someone did recognise him and decided that demanding that the King explain what he was doing snaking into his own castle at night was not a wise career move) 

Anyway, he apparently decreed that the fortress must be properly locked up at sunset, and unlocked in the morning. It's not recorded whether he also made any rules about putting the cat out.

And so, ever since, there has been a ceremony every night (as far as I can tell, the unlocking in the morning is rather less formal!) 

The Duke of Wellington, who was the Constable of Tower in 1826, changed the timing to provide for the ceremony to take place at 10 p.m. every night, rather than 'sunset', and that's what's happened ever since. (It was slightly delayed once in 1940 when a bomb fell on the tower, but hasn't been missed)

You aren't allowed to take photos, so this one is from the official website

You have to book ahead - the tickets are only £5.50 each but there are only a relatively small number, and they have to be booked in advance.

I arrived at the Tower at about 9.15 - the tickets are very firm that you must be on time, and no latecomers will be admitted, so I wanted to be sure I was a bit early. So, there was a bit of hanging about outside the (locked) gares, then just before 9.30, a Yeoman Warder (Beefeater) wearing a long, red, 'guard coat' (rather than the tudor dress you see in the Yeomen in when they are on duty in the day) came up to the gate to let us in, ticking us all off on a list, and we were then let in through the gates. I think there were maybe 30-40 of us.

'Our' Yeoman then explained that we were not permitted to have phones on or to take photos during the ceremony, before taking us across the moat and giving us a brief history ot the tower and then an explanation of the timing and sequence of the ceremony, before leading us further in.

We were then let further in, where we waited by Traitor's Gate and he went off with a bunch of keys..

Then a group of four soldiers showed up, from the inner ward - One (1) officer with drawn sword, 2 (2) normal soldiers with big guns, and one (1) drummer (with no drum) there to carry a lantern, which contains a candle, because dammit, just because the place has multiple electric lights is no reason to change the habits of 700 years. 

One of the Yeoman (not our guide, a different one, wearing a proper Tudor bonnet) falls in with them, or they with him, and marches off to lock the outer gates, then they came marching back, with our Yeoman following on behind, and at this point, a single sentry came out to challenge them - the whole "Who comes there?" "The Keys" "Whose Keys?" "King Charles' Keys"  "Pass, King Charles' keys, All's well"

Then they march through the gateway and to the Broadwalk stairs, where there are a whole lot more soldiers, there's some presenting arms, and a "God preserve King Charles" by the  Yeoman, then (at 10 p.m.) the Last Post is sounded, after which  all the soldiers fall out and wander off. 

THat's the end of the ceremony, but the guide then gave us a little more information and answered questions, before escorting us out (through the wicket gates, if you are wondering. Presumably they don't require such ceremonial locking up!) 

The whole experience was interesting, and slightly weird. I'm glad I went, but also glad I had other things planned for the weekend, it would have been a bit disappointing if I'd  made a trip solely to see it.

If you want to go, you have to book ahead, via the Historic Royal Palaces website - tickets go on sale at the beginning of each month, and sell out pretty fast.