 | |
| Abbreviation | HCP |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1989 |
| Legal status | Royal Charter Body |
| Headquarters | Hampton Court Palace |
| Location |
|
Region served | England andNorthern Ireland |
| Membership | 167,799 (2023-24) |
Chair | Nicholas Coleridge |
Chief Executive Officer | John Barnes |
Main organ | Board of Trustees |
| Revenue | £134.4 million (2023–24) |
| Staff | 833FTE (2023–24) |
| Volunteers | 800 |
| Website | www |
Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity that manages the United Kingdom's unoccupied royal palaces:
Historic Royal Palaces is also responsible forHillsborough Castle in the north-west ofCounty Down, the official residence inNorthern Ireland ofthe King.
Historic Royal Palaces has managed the London palaces since 1989, and Hillsborough Castle since 2014. Occupied royal palaces, such asBuckingham Palace andWindsor Castle, are maintained by theRoyal Household Property Section, and some are open to the public.
Historic Royal Palaces is established as aRoyal Charter Body with charitable status.[1]
The objectives of Historic Royal Palaces, as set out in its Royal Charter are, for the benefit of the nation:
Historic Royal Palaces is a Public Corporation but receives no funding from either the Government orthe Crown, with all of its costs met by self-generated income.[2]
The London palaces themselves are owned bythe King in right of the Crown, and Historic Royal Palaces is contracted by theSecretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to manage the five London palaces on his behalf. Hillborough Castle is owned by the Government and its management is contracted to Historic Royal Palaces by theSecretary of State for Northern Ireland.[2]
Historic Royal Palaces' trading arm, Historic Royal Palaces Enterprises Limited, is company wholly-owned by Historic Royal Palaces responsible for running the charity's commercial activities.[2]
The Board of Historic Royal Palaces consists of a Chair and eleven Trustees, all non-executive and unpaid. The Chair is appointed by the King on the advice of theSecretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Four Trustees are also appointed by the King, three asex-officio appointments: theDirector of the Royal Collection, theKeeper of the Privy Purse and theLord Chamberlain. The remaining Trustees are appointed by the Secretary of State, two ex-officio: theConstable of the Tower of London and the Chairman of the Campaign Board.[a] The Chief Executive is granted a general delegation to act on behalf of Trustees, save for reserved matters.[3]
The current Chief Executive is John Barnes, who has been in place since 2017.Lucy Worsley andTracy Borman are co-curators for the charity.[4]
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TheTower of London is a historiccastle on the north bank of theRiver Thames incentral London, founded toward the end of 1066 as part of theNorman Conquest. TheWhite Tower, which gives the castle its name, was built byWilliam the Conqueror in 1078. The Tower of London has played a prominent role inEnglish history, serving variously as anarmoury, atreasury, a prison, amenagerie, the home of theRoyal Mint, apublic record office, and the home of theCrown Jewels of England. The Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and amoat.
The chief attractions advertised by Historic Royal Palaces at the Tower include the Crown Jewels, the TowerRavens, theWhite Tower and surrounding battlements, andSt John's Chapel.[5]
Hampton Court Place is a historicpalace located on the north bank of theRiver Thames nearHampton inGreater London, in theLondon Borough of Richmond upon Thames.Cardinal Wolsey began construction in 1514 of a royal palace, which was continued and expanded byHenry VIII after Wolsey's demise in 1530. Hampton Court Palace went on to become a centre of royal power in theTudor period. The palace underwent extensive renovation in theBaroque style during the reign ofWilliam III, designed byChristopher Wren.Queen Victoria opened the palace to the public in 1838.
Historic Royal Palaces advertises Hampton Court Palace as the "home of Henry VIII", focussing on the dramas and lives ofHenry VIII, hiswives and their children in the world of the Tudor court. The baroque palace built for William III and Mary II, 60 acres of gardens and Magic Garden adventure playground are key attractions.[6]
Kensington Palace is a royal residence[b] set inKensington Gardens, in theRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea inLondon. TheState Apartments were renovated in late 19th century and opened to the public (see History).
Historic Royal Palaces advertises Kensington Palace as the birthplace and childhood residence ofQueen Victoria, with the Jewel Room (containing jewellery commissioned by Queen Victoria) and the Queen's and King's State Apartments as key attractions.[7] The Orangery is managed as a cafe and restaurant.[8]
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TheBanqueting House, onWhitehall in theCity of Westminster,central London, is the only large surviving component of thePalace of Whitehall, being one of grandest surviving examples of the architectural genre ofbanqueting houses in the classical style ofPalladian architecture.
The key attraction of the Banqueting House is the opulent decoration of the Banqueting Hall, including the ceiling painting byRubens commissioned byCharles I.[9] Historic Royal Palaces highlights Banqueting House as the execution site of Charles I.[10]
Kew Palace is a historic palace within the grounds ofKew Gardens on the south bank of theRiver Thames, near Kew inGreater London, in theLondon Borough of Richmond upon Thames.Queen Charlotte's Cottage is an 18th-centurycottage orné within the grounds of Kew Gardens. TheGreat Pagoda was built in 1761 by Sir William Chambers as a present forPrincess Augusta, the founder of theKew Gardens.
Historic Royal Palaces advertises Kew Palace as the home ofGeorge III andQueen Charlotte.[11] The Royal Kitchens are a key attraction.[12]
Hillsborough Castle is a castle located inRoyal Hillsborough,County Down,Northern Ireland. The castle is the official residence inNorthern Ireland of theSecretary of State for Northern Ireland, and of theBritish monarch and other members of theBritish royal family when they visit the region, as well as a guest house for prominent international visitors.
Historic Royal Palaces cites the 100 acres of picturesque gardens and castle State Rooms as attractions.[13]
The main categories ofaccessioned heritage assets held by Historic Royal Palaces are:
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Historic Royal Palaces also displays items on short and long-term loan, including:
Historic Royal Palaces is a Public Corporation but receives no funding from either the Government orthe Crown, with all of its costs met by self-generated income.[2]
| Historic Royal Palaces Visitor figures 2023[16] | |
|---|---|
| Tower of London | 2,790,280 |
| Hampton Court Palace | 628,528 |
| Kensington Palace | 421,697 |
| Kew Palace | 156,584 |
| Hillsborough Castle | 91,977 |
The charity primarily generates income from a combination of admissions and memberships, grants and donations, retail sales and other trading activities, and investment income. In the year to 31 March 2024, Historic Royal Palaces total income was £134.4m, more than half of which (£84.9m) coming from ticket admissions to the various sites, £66.2m (78%) of which was collected at the Tower of London.[c][17] Membership income from the 167,799 members totalled £5.6m.[18] Retail income from the site gift shops and online sales totalled £20m, and functions and events raised £6.8m.[19]
The charity's expenses are classified under the principal headings of 'Costs of raising funds' and 'Expenditure on charitable activities', comprising the direct expenditure (including staff[d] and support costs) attributable to each activity.[20] Total expenditure in the year to 31 March 2024 was £90.9m, of which £73.9 m was allocated to expenditure on charitable activities, including £25.5m on Palaces (conservation work on both the buildings and collections; research; acquisitions; and maintenance of buildings and grounds), £41.4m on Experiences (exhibitions; special events; online activities; schools projects and programmes; and community events); £5.5 m on costs attributable to fund-raising, membership and sponsorships; and £1.9m on workplace Culture. The remaining £17.3m allocated to costs of raising funds included £12.6m on retail activities.[21]
Management of the unoccupied Royal palaces in London was consolidated in theOffice of Works over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Informal tours ofHampton Court Palace had been available since the Elizabethan era, and by the 18th century access to the Palace and tours of theRoyal Collection were arranged for small groups by the housekeeper, and included in tourists' guide books.[22] Hampton Court Palace was officially opened to the public in November 1838,[23] and the Office of Works made responsible for opening the Palace from Sunday to Thursday (closing Friday for cleaning).[24]
TheWar Office and its predecessor bodies[e] had managed theTower of London since the 15th century, using theWhite Tower as its headquarters and surrounding buildings for storage.[25] Responsibility for the repair and restoration of the external elevations of 'buildings of historical or national interest in the charge of the War Office' was transferred to the Office of Works in 1898, with the War Office retaining operational control of the active sites.[f] The Tower, along with all its military buildings, staff and tourist income,[g] was fully transferred to the Office of Works in 1903.[26]
Kew Palace andQueen Charlotte's Cottage inKew Gardens were transferred to the Office of Works in a deal brokered by its Permanent Secretary,Lord Esher, whereby in exchange the dilapidatedKensington Palace would be renovated as a residence forQueen Victoria's children, and itsState Apartments opened to the public.[27]
In 1970, theMinistry of Public Building and Works[h] was absorbed into theDepartment of the Environment,[i] a super-ministry created by the newly-electedHeath government. The Ancient Monuments Department was amalgamated with the listed buildings section of the former Ministry of Housing in 1972 to create the Directorate of Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings (DAMHB) as a specialised and autonomous body overseeing English heritage monuments and buildings.[28]
The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission (soon to be known asEnglish Heritage) was created in 1984[j] by theThatcher government to move the management of historic buildings from DAMHB outside of direct government control. The government did not think it appropriate however that the unoccupied royal palaces be included in the transfer (for fear of the appearance ofprivatisation), and the regulatory status of the palaces remain split across several bodies[k] until a catastrophic fire at Hampton Court Palace in 1986 highlighted the deficiencies in the buildings' management.[l][29]
After several changes in management and oversight, the unoccupied palaces were transferred out of the Department of the Environment to a dedicatedexecutive agency calledHistoric Royal Palaces on 1 October 1989, to be run as a commercial businesses under a chief executive. In 1998 Historic Royal Palaces became an independent charity contracted by theSecretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to manage the London palaces on behalf ofThe King in Right of Crown, and in 2014 by theSecretary of State for Northern Ireland to manage Hillsborough Castle.[30]
Following the confirmed outbreak of COVID-19 in the UK in early 2020, visitor numbers to sites operated by Historic Royal Palaces began to decline from mid-February. On 20 March all Historic Royal Palaces were closed (along with other public venues) and the organisation effectively 'put into hibernation'. The majority of staff were'furloughed' and the Board of Trustees released reserves to fund the financial survival of the charity.[31] Historic Royal Palaces successfully applied to theCulture Recovery Fund for a £3m grant for conservation projects and in January 2021 received a further £40m repayable loan.[m][32] Income for the 2020-21 financial year fell to £12m, a reduction of 89% against budget, and ultimately 284 staff were made redundant.[33]
In 2023, Historic Royal Palaces partnered with theUniversity of Manchester to support a doctoral research project on theBritish monarchy's link to slavery, with full access to theRoyal Archives and theRoyal Collection. The study is expected to be completed by 2026.[34][35]
Davis, John R. (2024). "An Act of 'Queenly Beneficence'? A Historical Investigation of the Opening of Hampton Court Palace to the Public in the Nineteenth Century".The Court Historian.29 (1):17–32.doi:10.1080/14629712.2024.2321780.
Historic Royal Palaces (31 March 2020). Trustees' Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2020 (Report).
Historic Royal Palaces (31 March 2021). Trustees' Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021 (Report).
Historic Royal Palaces (31 March 2022). Trustees' Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2022 (Report).
Historic Royal Palaces (31 March 2023). Trustees' Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2023 (Report).
Historic Royal Palaces (31 March 2024). Trustees' Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (Report).
Impey, Edward; Parnell, Geoffrey (2000).The Tower of London: The Official Illustrated History. Merrell Publishers in association with Historic Royal Palaces.ISBN 978-1-85894-106-6.
Thurley, Simon (2013).Men from the Ministry: how Britain saved its Heritage. London: Yale University Press.ISBN 9780300195729.
Thurley, Simon (2003).Hampton Court: A Social and Architectural History. London: Yale University Press.ISBN 0300102232.| International | |
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