2018 Welcome to the 2018 will be my first full year as Chief at Hampton Court Palace, the famous Executive of Historic Royal Palaces Tudor Kitchens are getting a makeover Historic Royal Palaces and it promises to be an exciting one, in May. with several major projects coming to fruition. Our major restoration of the Great Pagoda at Kew draws to a close in 2018 The Tower of London will take centre after almost three years of painstaking Press Office stage, marking important moments research and conservation. We hope to with a new display and live events. unveil the finished Pagoda, restored to its Georgian splendour and complete On the 400th anniversary of the with 80 brightly coloured dragons, Historic Royal Palaces is the independent charity that looks death of Sir Walter Raleigh, the in time for Summer 2018. Bloody Tower where the Elizabethan after the Tower of London adventurer was incarcerated will be Looking ahead, there will be plenty of Banqueting House , Hampton Court Palace represented. It was at the Tower opportunities to follow our progress , where Raleigh experimented with the throughout the year as we continue Hillsborough CastleKensington Palace , the ingredients for an ‘Elixir of Life’ – we the transformation of Hillsborough the story of how monarchs. Our aim and is peopleto help , have everyoneKew Palaceshaped explore can’t promise to replicate it - but we and Castle’s house and gardens, before society, in some of the greatest palaces ever built. will be recreating elements of the our public opening in 2019. garden where he reputedly grew That’s where we come in… some of the ingredients! On behalf of everyone at Historic Royal Palaces, I’d like to thank you The last 17 days of another famous for supporting our work, and we he Press Office handles all media resident, Anne Boleyn, will be explored look forward to welcoming you to enquiries related to the palaces, in a major new live event from May the palaces in 2018. from sharing news stories and Find out who you can interview about – the anniversary of her execution. In our exciting upcoming projects, how photographs of our exhibitions July, a new work by Hofesh Shechter, to facilitating documentaries and feature to organise a press visit and how we filmsT such as The Theory of Everything ‘East Wall’, will premiere at the Tower, facilitate filming and photography. and Pirates of the Caribbean, manning If you’re looking for a story or inspiration, celebrating East London’s rich cultural heritage. In November, we will create our social media pages and tweeting check out our plans for the year ahead! a moment of reflection in the moat John Barnes 1,000 years of history. to follow the powerful Poppies Chief Executive, Historic Royal Palaces We want to make sure that you know commemoration in 2014, which will about everything we have planned. mark the centenary of the end of We know that you are immersed in World War One. deadlines and working under pressure, At Kensington Palace, our acclaimed so this guide is aimed at helping you Get in touch! get the most out of us. ‘Diana: Her Fashion Story ’ exhibition Call the Press Office on continues into 2018. We’ll be +44 (0)203 166 6166 or introducing more iconic garments email [email protected] introducing into the display over We even tweet at . the course of the year. Meanwhile, @HRP_PressOffice 2 3 A year of anniversaries at the Tower of London he Tower of London From May 2018, look out for an exciting traditionally dominated summer season of live performances the City of London and exploring Anne Boleyn’s last seventeen days in the Tower. On 19th May 1536 Anne remains one of the was the first English queen to be publicly capital’s most imposing FAST FACTS executed. She was led from her quarters landmarks, home of the Crown to Tower Green where, spared the axe, she In 1078, William the Conqueror began TJewels, ravens and the Yeoman was granted the ‘mercy’ of beheading by a work on a great stone palace with Warders. With over 900 years of French swordsman. Following the ill-fated walls 15 feet thick, known since the history, this infamous fortress is Queen’s journey from arrest to death, medieval period as the White Tower. uniquely placed to share some this historical spectacle and state-of-the- It now houses a collection of historic nation exploration will pose questions royal arms and armour belonging to of the most significant stories about how we consume news, bringing the Royal Armouries, including the from Britain’s past. In 2018, the a new contemporary relevance to this magnificent armour of Henry VIII Tower will celebrate a year of infamous moment in the Tower’s history. anniversaries, marking the lives With around 3 million visitors a year, In July, Historic Royal Palaces, Hofesh the Tower of London is the UK’s most of some of its most famous Schechter Company, East London Dance visited heritage attraction prisoners with a series of new and LIFT are coming together to bring a displays and events. large-scale spectacle of dance and live Yeoman Warders have been guarding music at the Tower of London. ‘East Wall’, the Tower of London since Tudor 29 October 2018 marks the 400th will feature up and coming choreographers times. Nicknamed ‘Beefeaters’, the anniversary of Sir Walter Raleigh’s death. from East London, and a large cast of Yeoman Body of 37 men and women One of the Tower of London’s most dancers, musicians and community are all drawn from the Armed Forces famous prisoners, the adventurer Raleigh participants from Tower Hamlets and led a notorious life, first as a favourite of surrounding boroughs to celebrate East The Tower of London has been home Elizabeth I and later as an enemy of James I. London’s rich cultural heritage. to the world famous Crown Jewels He was imprisoned in the Tower on three since the beginning of the 14th century separate occasions, passing a total of Finally, reflecting on the powerful poppy thirteen years within its walls. During his installation at the Tower of London in From the 1200s to 1835, the Tower imprisonment, Raleigh wrote the first 2014, Historic Royal Palaces will deliver a housed a menagerie of exotic wild volume of his History of the World (1614) new temporary installation in November animals, never before seen in London, and for the most part he was held in the 2018 to mark the centenary of the end of including lions and a polar bear given Bloody Tower. This space will be newly the First World War. as royal gifts interpreted from summer 2018, while elements of Raleigh’s ‘Lost Garden’, where he reputedly grew tobacco, will also be brought back to life. Throughout the year, our expert curators will be on hand to explain how imprisonment at the Tower helped shape Raleigh’s life and legacy. 4 5 rom its humble beginnings in Castle will become a centre for cross- the 1770s as the family home community learning and engagement The transformation of for the Hill family to its pivotal programmes. role in the Peace Process in the Even as the work continues throughout 1970s, Hillsborough Castle has played a F the year, the Castle will be open for the key role in the history of Northern Ireland. summer season and staging a series of Hillsborough Castle Now Historic Royal Palaces is opening activities for all, such as daily tours of a new exciting chapter in the history of the castle and grounds, fun-filled family Hillsborough Castle, in preparation for a weekends, talks and musical evenings. continues... grand re-opening in 2019. If you’re interested in finding out more 2018 will see us progressing with our about our journey transforming restoration of Hillsborough Castle’s world Hillsborough Castle, then do get in famous gardens, which boast over 100 touch throughout the year to find out acres of ornamental grounds, peaceful what we’re going to do next! woodland and meandering waterways. We plan to restore the ‘Walled Garden’, which once produced fruit and vegetables for the castle, along with the ‘Lost Garden’, an Edwardian wild garden, which we’ll be bringing back to life with new planting FAST FACTS and family friendly features. Hillsborough Castle’ is a Georgian Inside the Castle, a team of traditional mansion house which sits at the heart craftspeople are working alongside our of Hillsborough village. Both the house expert curators and conservators to and village were planned and built represent the Castle’s majestic State by Wills Hill, the first marquis of Rooms, which have functioned as both a Hillsborough, and his descendants in royal residence and the venue for some the late 18th and early 19th century of the most important political discussions in Northern Ireland’s history. Meanwhile, Since 1925 the Castle has served as the to make it all possible, we’re building new official royal residence in Northern visitor facilities and a learning centre to Ireland and is also the residence of the support our work telling the story of this Secretary of State for Northern Ireland fascinating building. Hillsborough Castle became a centre We will continue to develop a rich for peace talks in the late 1960s and programme of learning, participation 1970s, with the Anglo-Irish Agreement and public programmes to appeal to signed here in 1985, followed by people of all ages and backgrounds to decommissioning talks in 1999, and discover more about the Castle’s history. the negotiation of the devolution All activities will draw inspiration from of policing and justice powers and explore the gardens, the buildings, (The Hillsborough Agreement) in 2010 the history of the Hill family and the town, the Governors of Northern Ireland, and Hillsborough’s role in the Peace Process, up to the present day.