Arts, Culture & Heritage Education & Young People Enhanced 2025
Historic Royal Palaces

2024/25 Annual Review

Historic Royal Palaces (charity no. 1068852) is the independent charity caring for six unoccupied royal palaces: Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Banqueting House, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace and Hillsborough Castle and Gardens. The 2024/25 Annual Review covers 5 million visitors, £138.6 million income, 217,400 £1 Universal Credit tickets, the launch of the Tomorrow's Tower fundraising campaign, major conservation at Banqueting House and a new strategy — Reach Further, Mean More, Act for the Future — committing to carbon net zero and nature-positive by 2050.

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📋About

Palaces and sites: Tower of London (World Heritage Site), Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, Banqueting House, Hillsborough Castle and Gardens. Visitor access: £1 Universal Credit tickets (217,400 sold); Relaxed Hour at the Tower for neurodivergent and learning disabled children; deaf-led tours and audio-described tours at Hampton Court; British Sign Language and audio-described tours via Digital Visitor Guides; sensory maps and accessibility videos; virtual tours; Superbloom Schools (25 partner schools created moat in bloom gardens); A-Level Study Day at Hampton Court; Fire: A Princess's Guide to Burning Issues secondary schools tour (7,000+ students across London and East Midlands). Conservation: Banqueting House major conservation project (air source heat pump installed, Rubens ceiling protected, new English oak floor, Garfield Weston Foundation and Wolfson Foundation support; reopening Autumn 2025); Chapel Royal Hampton Court east wall conservation (10-metre bespoke scaffold, Grinling Gibbons and Sir James Thornhill works, The Syder Foundation and The Leche Trust); Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection digitisation (200 items to gigapixel quality, partnership with Google Arts & Culture, Michael Stennett legacy; 10,000+ item collection spanning 16th century to present); RICHeS programme (Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science); 100 collection additions. Exhibitions and events: Dress Codes; Six Lives (Jane Seymour badge loaned to National Portrait Gallery); Untold Lives: A Palace at Work (304,000 visitors); Still the Hours immersive audio tour at Hampton Court; Royal Style in the Making at Hillsborough Castle; Peter Rabbit trail at Hillsborough; Henry VIII on Tour research project (University of York, Newcastle University, AHRC); Songstars programme at Chapel Royal with Choral Foundation and Hounslow Music Service; Tulip Festival (100,000+ tulips). New strategy: Reach Further, Mean More, Act for the Future — targeting net zero carbon and nature-positive by 2050; Tomorrow's Tower fundraising campaign; Restoration in Progress brand campaign launched October 2024

📊Key Metrics

Total income £138,600,000 and total expenditure £108,350,000 (year ended 31 March 2025, charity no. 1068852); 5 million people welcomed through palace gates; £138.6m income of which £84.7m from ticket admissions (£68.3m at Tower of London alone) Key Metric 1
Over 160,000 members making 300,000+ visits generating £5.8m membership income plus £814k Gift Aid; 217,400 £1 Universal Credit tickets sold; 304,000 visitors to Untold Lives: A Palace at Work exhibition at Kensington Palace; 99.5 million people reached across social media channels Key Metric 2
89% of visitors gained a better understanding of stories (discovery); 83% felt happier after their visit (joy); 76% were inspired to learn more; 28,365 visitors cheered on Henry VIII's Joust; £1.9 million secured in donations and pledges for Tomorrow's Tower campaign Key Metric 3

✅Key Outcomes

  • 83% of visitors felt happier after their visit; 89% gained better understanding of palace stories; 94% charitable activities allocation of total expenditure; Tomorrow's Tower campaign secured £1.9m including £1m from Sandys Trust and National Lottery Heritage Fund development grant
  • New five-year strategy launched: Reach Further, Mean More, Act for the Future; Tomorrow's Tower largest-ever fundraising campaign launched; Banqueting House closed June 2024 for major conservation (reopening Autumn 2025); Relaxed Hour at Tower launched for neurodivergent visitors; Restoration in Progress first-ever brand campaign launched October 2024; partnership with Google Arts & Culture for Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection
  • Queen Charlotte wig from Bridgerton displayed at Kew Palace; five-gun salutes at Tower for state visits from Japan and Qatar; Hillsborough Castle welcomed six royal visits including HRH Princess Anne; Hampton Court hosted TM The King and Queen for Sustainable Markets Summit and The Queen's Reading Room Festival; Henry VIII on Tour research in Exeter recreating 1539 royal progress; Academy of Urbanism Awards participation; 639 volunteers supported the charity

📍Geography

International

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