0:00:03 > 0:00:06The challenges facing Britain's royal palaces
0:00:06 > 0:00:08would increase in the modern age.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13Mob violence and revolution had been dangers in the past...
0:00:13 > 0:00:16- AIR-RAID SIRENS - ..but now there were new threats.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Aerial bombardment...
0:00:23 > 0:00:27..and a nation almost bankrupted by fighting two world wars.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34Other nations jettisoned their royal families in a spate of revolutions
0:00:34 > 0:00:39after the First World War, and more European crowns would tumble.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42In Britain, the monarchy wanted to appear democratic
0:00:42 > 0:00:45while retaining the trappings of majesty.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Many royal palaces have survived the turbulent centuries.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55The Tower of London still stands proud,
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Hampton Court is a miraculous survival,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01and more than any other monarch,
0:01:01 > 0:01:04George IV created a theatrical backdrop
0:01:04 > 0:01:06for the modern age of monarchy.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10But many palaces vanished along the way -
0:01:10 > 0:01:14the victims of fire, changing fashions and demolition -
0:01:14 > 0:01:18and as modernism and post-war progress beckoned,
0:01:18 > 0:01:21it seemed that more royal architecture would follow.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41The newly completed Buckingham Palace
0:01:41 > 0:01:43became the principal royal residence
0:01:43 > 0:01:46when Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54She and Prince Albert made the palace a set for royal spectacle,
0:01:54 > 0:01:56adding an immense ballroom...
0:01:58 > 0:02:02..and, in the late 1840s, an entire new frontage
0:02:02 > 0:02:05to accommodate, children, staff and guests.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11But Victoria and Albert increasingly wanted privacy...
0:02:11 > 0:02:15and they found it a long way from London.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20This is Osborne House on the Isle of Wight,
0:02:20 > 0:02:23built for Victoria and Albert in the mid-1840s
0:02:23 > 0:02:26on a beautiful and secluded coastal estate.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31It was largely designed by Prince Albert with Thomas Cubitt,
0:02:31 > 0:02:36a master builder who'd made his name and fortune designing
0:02:36 > 0:02:42luxurious London houses in Belgravia for the nation's super-rich.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46The house divides in two, with rooms for courtiers
0:02:46 > 0:02:48and visitors on one side...
0:02:50 > 0:02:54..and, on the other, a substantial family villa.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06This was the Queen's sitting room.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13And here is the Queen's desk...
0:03:15 > 0:03:18..where she'd deal with State papers,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21and Albert's desk next to her.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24So very important activity taking place in this room.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28However, it was also a place of informal family gatherings.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33It tells us much about their domestic values.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35It doesn't feel, really, like a palace, does it,
0:03:35 > 0:03:41but like a comfortable, private, upper-middle-class family home.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56And after Prince Albert died in 1861,
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Queen Victoria spent even more of her time
0:03:59 > 0:04:02in retreat from the demands of court and public.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Despite her aloof demeanour, Queen Victoria supported
0:04:07 > 0:04:11the idea of opening royal palaces to the public.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Prince Albert had overseen the repairs to the medieval fabric
0:04:14 > 0:04:18at the Tower of London and wanted it preserved as an ancient monument.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Now, with the fashion for the Gothic,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25the Tower became a major tourist destination.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33It was Charles II who invented royal tourism,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36as far back as 1688.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43He created a royal attraction at the Tower that told
0:04:43 > 0:04:46the story of monarchy using suits of armour.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52The Line of Kings was a propaganda statement
0:04:52 > 0:04:57created for Charles II, promoting the newly restored monarchy.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01It also affirmed the right of kings to rule
0:05:01 > 0:05:04by featuring heroic kings like Henry VIII
0:05:04 > 0:05:09and ignoring villains like Richard III.
0:05:09 > 0:05:10To this day,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14it's the longest-running tourist attraction in the world.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21Originally, the Line of Kings
0:05:21 > 0:05:24was a fairly random assemblage of old armour.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28But over the centuries, new monarchs were added
0:05:28 > 0:05:30and it became more authentic.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42The horses on which the kings sat
0:05:42 > 0:05:45are beautiful works of art in their own right,
0:05:45 > 0:05:50made mostly in the 1670s and 1680s out of blocks of oak,
0:05:50 > 0:05:52glued and pegged together.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55This one's absolutely charming.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57Some were made by Grinling Gibbons,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00the greatest wood-carver of his age.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Wonderfully carved mane, and the teeth,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07and even the horseshoes on the hooves -
0:06:07 > 0:06:08it's fantastic detail.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11All, of course, are stallions.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14They're anatomically correct.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18And their beautiful naturalistic posture.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21They are absolutely tremendous.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30Charles II also put the Crown Jewels on public display.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Their traditional guardians are the Yeomen Warders,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39who today are a tourist attraction in their own right.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43OK. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
0:06:43 > 0:06:44- CROWD:- Good afternoon.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47And welcome to Her Majesty's royal palace and fortress,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51the Tower of London - a World Heritage Site, no less.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54My name is Clive, and I am one of the 37 Yeomen Warders
0:06:54 > 0:06:56that live and work here at the Tower.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59They also serve as tour guides,
0:06:59 > 0:07:04telling visitors the history of the Tower in all its gory detail.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07The executioner would then bring down his axe,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09hopefully beheading his victim with one stroke.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12The executioner would then pick up that severed
0:07:12 > 0:07:15and still-bleeding head and hold it aloft for all to see.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Turning to the assembled crowds he would proclaim,
0:07:18 > 0:07:20"Behold the head of a traitor!
0:07:20 > 0:07:24"So die all traitors! God save the King!"
0:07:24 > 0:07:27And the crowd would go wild and cheer.
0:07:27 > 0:07:28CROWD CHEERS
0:07:35 > 0:07:37Another Yeoman Warder
0:07:37 > 0:07:40has a particularly important responsibility.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Sorry, ladies and gents, I'm afraid it's Merlin's bedtime.
0:07:43 > 0:07:44I've got to get her to bed.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Do you fancy reading her a good night story?
0:07:46 > 0:07:48- Come on, you, down you come.- Oh!
0:07:48 > 0:07:50HE CHUCKLES
0:07:50 > 0:07:52That's her in a good mood.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Come on, beautiful.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Barney Chandler is on bedtime duty.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01It's something of a specialist skill.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Good girl, Merlin.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06The legend goes that if the ravens vanish from the Tower,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08the kingdom will fall.
0:08:08 > 0:08:09Clever girl.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15With all the legends about the ravens in the Tower,
0:08:15 > 0:08:17how long have they been here, in fact?
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Naturally? Since the year dot.
0:08:20 > 0:08:21Long before this place was here.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24- London birds? - Oh, yeah, without a doubt.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27They're very hardy birds, they'll survive in the tundra,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30in the Sahara, in the Arctic.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33They're very, very hardy, but they were driven away
0:08:33 > 0:08:37from this part of the world, but they're gradually creeping down.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40It's an amazing thought that the ravens were here before the Tower.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Long before this place. Yeah.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45And this has been here for 934 years, so you can imagine them now
0:08:45 > 0:08:47roosting up in the rafters up there.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49But it was because of...
0:08:49 > 0:08:52They were being a pain, basically, during the reign of Charles II,
0:08:52 > 0:08:54they were getting in the way,
0:08:54 > 0:08:57and they were...moved on, shall we say, during that reign.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01But Charles II, very superstitious chap,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04he agreed to having six kept permanently.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07- And that's...- Since then? - Since then, a minimum of six.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10We've got eight at the minute but we must have a minimum of six.
0:09:10 > 0:09:11- She's lovely.- She's fantastic.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14We better let her get some shut-eye. She's got her eye on you.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16THEY LAUGH
0:09:16 > 0:09:18In the nicest possible way, I hope!
0:09:22 > 0:09:24The ravens were efficient scavengers
0:09:24 > 0:09:27during the Tower's many centuries as a prison.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Chief Yeoman Warder Alan Kingshott lives in the cell
0:09:33 > 0:09:37of the last men to be beheaded on Tower Hill -
0:09:37 > 0:09:40executed for treason after the Battle of Culloden.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45So do come in, into my home.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48Here we are in the Byward Tower.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50Do come through.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53So, you actually do live in a castle.
0:09:53 > 0:09:54HE CHUCKLES
0:09:54 > 0:09:56I presume this was a prison at some point here?
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Indeed it was, yes.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Most of the prisoners that were here were very important people,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04they were wealthy people. And what would normally happen is
0:10:04 > 0:10:07the prisoners would be brought in, they would be very well looked after
0:10:07 > 0:10:11and essentially looked after by the Yeomen Warders and their families.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15So they would provide for them, have food and so on prepared for them.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19So it was quite common for the prisoner to be in one room
0:10:19 > 0:10:22and the family that were the custodians, if you like,
0:10:22 > 0:10:24the people looking after them, in another room.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28And the last Scottish lords, Lords Lovat, Kilmarnock, Balmerino,
0:10:28 > 0:10:31were held in prison here in 1746, prior to execution up on Tower Hill.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34- And they were held in prison in what is now our bedroom.- Really?
0:10:34 > 0:10:37And we still have the original prison door.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39- Good heavens! - Shall we have a look at it?- Yes.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42- It's all in its original state. - Yeah.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Of course, the rivets down the sides here
0:10:45 > 0:10:48and, of course, the locking bars here.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52This is how it went, it went across this way and then secured here.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55- So it's all still here.- Exactly the same on the bottom, indeed.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57- Good heavens.- Still work.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Grandchildren love it. They come here, they visit Grandma, Grandad...
0:11:00 > 0:11:02- Lock 'em in! - ..and they lock us in, yes.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Of course!
0:11:04 > 0:11:07The lock has been removed, I don't know quite when that happened,
0:11:07 > 0:11:09but of course the keyhole's still there.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14Come inside, let me show you the room behind the door.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16Nowadays it's a bedroom
0:11:16 > 0:11:20but it was originally a prison room for the Scottish lords.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23It's incredible, isn't it? This is where they were held.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26Indeed. It's been adjusted over the years, obviously, and modified.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29As you can see, the bars in the window are still there on that side
0:11:29 > 0:11:33- but they've been removed on this side.- Ah, what a view!
0:11:33 > 0:11:36What's it like, living and sleeping in this room?
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Thick brick-and-stone walls, and the curved shape - is it...?
0:11:39 > 0:11:42Initially, it was fabulous, obviously.
0:11:42 > 0:11:47It was very exciting to live in a castle, quite strange,
0:11:47 > 0:11:52and not one day goes by when you're not pinching yourself to think,
0:11:52 > 0:11:54well, how fortunate are we,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57to be able to live in a wonderful, iconic building such as this?
0:11:59 > 0:12:03By the 1840s, the foul-smelling and polluted moat had been drained,
0:12:03 > 0:12:07filled in and planted with green and pleasant lawns.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12The Tower became a nice day out for Victorian Londoners.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Soon, it was attracting half a million visitors a year.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24It was the beginning of a tourist revolution.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36In 1838, just one year after coming to the throne,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39Queen Victoria declared that Hampton Court Palace
0:12:39 > 0:12:43should be thrown open to all her subjects.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46They came here in their thousands.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55So popular was Hampton Court that a horse-drawn omnibus
0:12:55 > 0:12:59carried tourists from central London every 20 minutes.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05And a new railway line opened to cope with demand,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08culminating in a brand-new station.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13Hampton Court offered the first intimate glimpse of regal lifestyle.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20By 1881, ten million people had been through the palace doors,
0:13:20 > 0:13:22and they kept coming.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29The last time the Royal Court descended upon the palace
0:13:29 > 0:13:33was in 1737, during the reign of George II.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36After that, no monarch stayed here again
0:13:36 > 0:13:39and the palace entered a new phase of its life.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42It became home to a bustling community
0:13:42 > 0:13:44of grace and favour residents.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Grace and favour living involved retired courtiers
0:13:51 > 0:13:54and public servants being given a lifetime's free accommodation
0:13:54 > 0:13:59in the palace, granted by the grace and favour of the sovereign.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03It turned Hampton Court into the grandest,
0:14:03 > 0:14:06most eccentric retirement home in the country.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22From the late 18th century, Hampton Court became home
0:14:22 > 0:14:27to faded and aged gentlefolk and aristocrats,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30mostly women - the wives and widows of soldiers,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34diplomats and administrators of the British Empire.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37These residents included Lady Baden-Powell,
0:14:37 > 0:14:39who founded the Girl Guides.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42Some of the residents were well-to-do
0:14:42 > 0:14:45who simply wanted to enjoy the opportunity offered to them
0:14:45 > 0:14:49of occupying large, palatial and free apartments.
0:14:49 > 0:14:54Others were out of funds, and William IV in 1830
0:14:54 > 0:14:58described Hampton Court as a quality poorhouse.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09I love this staircase leading to what for generations
0:15:09 > 0:15:12had been grace and favour apartments.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14The staircase, I suppose late 17th century,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17once grand but now rather utilitarian,
0:15:17 > 0:15:19painted this amazing colour.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21A bit like a sort of council flat, really,
0:15:21 > 0:15:23this glossy greeny-blue
0:15:23 > 0:15:26over wonderful panelling, some of it oak, I guess.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28And here - a wonderful thing,
0:15:28 > 0:15:34very revealing, about the nature of grace and favour residents.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38It's a kind of a basket on a pulley.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41I suppose the aged ladies living up here couldn't go up and down stairs
0:15:41 > 0:15:46so they'd lower the basket to collect supplies or their post,
0:15:46 > 0:15:50and then they'd hoist it up. Incredible.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04This was apartment 1.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09It had been grace and favour accommodation since the early 1770s.
0:16:09 > 0:16:14The average size of the apartments was 12 to 14 rooms,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17which means some of them must have been absolutely vast.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23It's a sort of labyrinth of rooms.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27This, I suppose, had been the dining room,
0:16:27 > 0:16:29perhaps a bedroom.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Now...
0:16:31 > 0:16:34wonderful lock on this door.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42Good heavens! What a room! Look at the size of it!
0:16:42 > 0:16:44Incredible.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49And still lined with its late-17th-century panelling.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52And a wonderful original fire surround over there.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55Absolutely tremendous!
0:16:55 > 0:16:57What a room in which to live.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01A lot of the tenants in the 18th and 19th century complained
0:17:01 > 0:17:04that these rooms were damp and hard to heat.
0:17:04 > 0:17:09They wanted money to pay for alterations and repairs
0:17:09 > 0:17:12but when told they had to pay for their own works,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15invariably very few works were carried out,
0:17:15 > 0:17:19which means rooms like this survive in wonderfully authentic condition.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33Grace and favour living started in the mid-18th century,
0:17:33 > 0:17:38and soon the palace had been divided into more than 50 apartments.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48The father of the great Regency dandy Beau Brummell
0:17:48 > 0:17:51lived at Hampton Court from 1772.
0:17:55 > 0:18:00An illegitimate daughter of William IV was here in the 1830s.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06The daughter of a maharajah based her suffragette campaign here
0:18:06 > 0:18:08before the First World War.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14And the sister of the last Tsar of Russia
0:18:14 > 0:18:19lived on at Hampton Court for almost half a century after the revolution.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24But in spite of the palatial setting,
0:18:24 > 0:18:26life at Hampton Court could be spartan.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30As late as the middle of the last century,
0:18:30 > 0:18:35a 105-year-old resident was refused permission to install a bathroom.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42This was the kitchen,
0:18:42 > 0:18:46and clearly this room has been somewhat altered.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49It's rather poignant the things people leave behind -
0:18:49 > 0:18:52the shadows of past things.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Look at this - the Hoover Cleaner,
0:18:54 > 0:19:00and still Hoover fittings inside, rather early ones.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Something of a museum piece.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04And lots of cupboards to explore...
0:19:05 > 0:19:08Empty, empty, empty...
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Ah! Interesting. Look...
0:19:12 > 0:19:17Let's see. It's a letter, or a receipt or something.
0:19:17 > 0:19:22John Lewis, Kingston, to... Ah! Lady Moore.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24Now, I know of her.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27She was the wife of General Sir Rodney Moore,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30sometime Chief Steward of Hampton Court Palace.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32Indeed a receipt.
0:19:33 > 0:19:371991, for a dishwasher.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40So this kitchen presumably dates from that time.
0:19:40 > 0:19:45I know Lady Moore was one of the last grace and favour residents
0:19:45 > 0:19:50in Hampton Court Palace, she left in the mid-1990s,
0:19:50 > 0:19:54and since that time this apartment has been uninhabited.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Someone who remembers the glory days
0:20:01 > 0:20:07of grace and favour is the Keeper of the Great Vine, Gill Strudwick.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11She's been at Hampton Court for more than 20 years.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16When I first worked here, before I started looking after the Great Vine,
0:20:16 > 0:20:21I worked in the private gardens, which were reserved solely
0:20:21 > 0:20:23for the grace and favour ladies,
0:20:23 > 0:20:25and I only knew the ones that did the gardening.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28And there was the orchard, and an area which was divided up
0:20:28 > 0:20:31into little squares where the ladies could grow
0:20:31 > 0:20:33flowers for their apartment.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35They weren't allowed to grow vegetables there,
0:20:35 > 0:20:37- it had to be flowers.- Fascinating.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39So was there a pecking order amongst them?
0:20:39 > 0:20:44Certainly, there was a pecking order amongst the ladies, methinks,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46but certainly by the time it came down to me,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49I would be, you know, the bottom, being the gardener.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53And the ladies at that time didn't want a man working round there
0:20:53 > 0:20:56so they had two young women.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59We weren't allowed to sit down.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02There were little two-seater benches for the ladies,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05and we at that time took all our breaks out of doors,
0:21:05 > 0:21:08and we weren't allowed to sit on those benches -
0:21:08 > 0:21:10but of course, naturally, if there were no ladies, we did -
0:21:10 > 0:21:13and we kept the gates, the private gates at either end,
0:21:13 > 0:21:16very squeaky, so the minute it squeaked we were up out of our seats
0:21:16 > 0:21:19with our Thermos flasks, standing up, having our break.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22- Good thinking! - So we knew our place!
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Also, the other thing, it was a community -
0:21:25 > 0:21:27a strange one, perhaps -
0:21:27 > 0:21:30but then also you had to deal with the other great thing
0:21:30 > 0:21:32of the visitors, the tourists. Was that an issue?
0:21:32 > 0:21:35The two worlds colliding?
0:21:35 > 0:21:36Generally not.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39We love the visitors, they're what make it come alive and vibrant,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41that's what we're doing it all for.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43And we're talking quite a long time ago.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46But there was one lady, she used to drive her car
0:21:46 > 0:21:49with a view that it was a visitor's job to get out of the way.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53And as she became older, she had a little buggy to go round the palace,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55but she drove that in the same way -
0:21:55 > 0:21:58it was their job to get out of the way.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01But other than that, I don't remember any clashes.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04She never actually ran anybody over,
0:22:04 > 0:22:08but, you know, she was determined, in her way.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11I suppose when Queen Victoria opened it to her subjects,
0:22:11 > 0:22:13of the grace and favour, I wonder...
0:22:13 > 0:22:15Can you imagine what it was like then?
0:22:15 > 0:22:16It must have been very shocking
0:22:16 > 0:22:19for those genteel ladies suddenly being overrun.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22Oh, yes, I believe they were very, very anti it indeed,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25yes, having their private...invaded.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27No, I believe they were not keen at all.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29The hoi polloi turning up, yes.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32No, I think they had all sorts of protests
0:22:32 > 0:22:35and people peering in through their windows and...
0:22:35 > 0:22:37No, I believe they were very anti indeed.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Fascinating. A very radical thing
0:22:39 > 0:22:42for Queen Victoria to do, really, wasn't it? To open it.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44Very, very, very generous and bold and wonderful.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48Well, my understanding is that she...
0:22:48 > 0:22:50wanted some government funding,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53and the government of the day said they would only help with the funding
0:22:53 > 0:22:56if she was to open it...
0:22:56 > 0:22:59to the public, which is what she was forced to do.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02So I'm not sure that she was quite as radical as that,
0:23:02 > 0:23:04I think she was...
0:23:04 > 0:23:06Money constraints backed her into that.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09And, of course, now that we're no longer government funded,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13all the revenue has to go into keeping it all going.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18In the 1890s, Queen Victoria did a similar deal with the government
0:23:18 > 0:23:21to repair Kensington Palace.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23It, too, would be opened to the public.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27The Banqueting House, the sole surviving building
0:23:27 > 0:23:30of the Palace of Whitehall, became a military museum.
0:23:31 > 0:23:37And Kew Palace threw open its doors in the Diamond Jubilee year of 1897.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41The latter part of the 19th century
0:23:41 > 0:23:44had seen a new interest in historic monuments.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46The Society for the Protection Ancient Buildings
0:23:46 > 0:23:48had been formed in 1877,
0:23:48 > 0:23:52an Act of Parliament to protect prehistoric monuments soon followed,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56and the National Trust was founded in 1895.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59It's as if the ageing Queen Victoria had anticipated the stirrings
0:23:59 > 0:24:02of the modern heritage movement.
0:24:04 > 0:24:10The old Queen died at Osborne House on 22nd January 1901.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13She had begun her long reign
0:24:13 > 0:24:17enjoying the grandeur created by her royal forbears
0:24:17 > 0:24:23but then retreated increasingly into a more domestic setting.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26The new King would be very different.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30Edward seemed like a throwback to the decadent days of George IV
0:24:30 > 0:24:33in his appetites and his architecture.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37At Buckingham Palace he swept away his mother's domestic clutter
0:24:37 > 0:24:42and painted the main rooms in imperial white and gold,
0:24:42 > 0:24:44and he installed electricity.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46Outside, he had even bigger plans.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49He wanted to realise a classical vision
0:24:49 > 0:24:51that stretched back nearly 300 years.
0:24:56 > 0:25:01The death of Queen Victoria had coincided with the apogee of Empire
0:25:01 > 0:25:03and for a nation mourning
0:25:03 > 0:25:06the end of the longest reign in British history,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09it seemed the right moment for a grandiose gesture.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15A memorial committee met within a few weeks of Victoria's death
0:25:15 > 0:25:18and it was decided that her memorial would comprise a personal monument
0:25:18 > 0:25:22to the Queen and a radical remodelling of The Mall -
0:25:22 > 0:25:24the approach road to Buckingham Palace.
0:25:24 > 0:25:29Now was a chance to create an imperial processional route
0:25:29 > 0:25:32that would allow royal theatre in the grand manner.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38The public supported the plan,
0:25:38 > 0:25:41and newspapers argued for wide royal avenues
0:25:41 > 0:25:45in a truly regal and imperial manner,
0:25:45 > 0:25:49as in Rome, Paris and Vienna.
0:25:49 > 0:25:50Sir Aston Webb -
0:25:50 > 0:25:54a fervent believer in the revival of classical architecture -
0:25:54 > 0:25:56was to mastermind the scheme.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01The mid-19th-century frontage of Buckingham Palace
0:26:01 > 0:26:04was to be replaced by a grander design
0:26:04 > 0:26:07with three pediments and giant columns.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11An immense statue of Victoria seated on her throne
0:26:11 > 0:26:15would create a benign focal point for Empire.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20The processional route of The Mall was to be widened...
0:26:22 > 0:26:26..and a huge triumphal arch created at its entrance.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39Standing here, on top of the Admiralty Arch,
0:26:39 > 0:26:41it is clear that it's the gateway
0:26:41 > 0:26:44to London's imperial and palace quarter.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48But it's also a threshold between worlds.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52To the east along the Strand is the City of London -
0:26:52 > 0:26:56the centre of wealth and commercial power.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00To the west is The Mall, lined with palatial buildings
0:27:00 > 0:27:03and terminating at Buckingham Palace -
0:27:03 > 0:27:09in the early 20th century, the heart of Empire and of royal power.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15The arch transforms The Mall
0:27:15 > 0:27:18into the great forecourt of an imperial palace...
0:27:24 > 0:27:28..with the focal point being the seated Victoria,
0:27:28 > 0:27:3275 feet high and carved of Carrarra marble.
0:27:36 > 0:27:41The monument's topped by a sculpture that has long defied definition.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45When the monument was started, it was thought to represent peace.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48But by the time the monument was completed -
0:27:48 > 0:27:51after the horrors of the First World War -
0:27:51 > 0:27:54it was thought to represent victory.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01And behind Victoria was the theatrical backdrop
0:28:01 > 0:28:03of the new-look Buckingham Palace.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06An entirely remodelled frontage
0:28:06 > 0:28:08had replaced the old, undramatic facade.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14It was intended to give the palace a solemn, imperial grandeur,
0:28:14 > 0:28:18making it feel for the first time like the royal residence
0:28:18 > 0:28:21at the heart of the largest, richest,
0:28:21 > 0:28:24most powerful empire the world had even seen.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27MARCHING BAND PLAYS
0:28:34 > 0:28:38London got its imperial, triumphal palace quarter
0:28:38 > 0:28:41but just as Empire was slipping away -
0:28:41 > 0:28:44a decline accelerated by the cost, the horror,
0:28:44 > 0:28:47the disillusionment of the First World War.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51So this grandiose palace quarter - with the Admiralty Arch,
0:28:51 > 0:28:55the Victoria monument and the re-fronted Buckingham Palace -
0:28:55 > 0:28:59was the last hurrah of a disappearing world.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08Now, instead of new buildings, it would be a matter
0:29:08 > 0:29:11of keeping existing palaces upright and water-tight,
0:29:11 > 0:29:14and finding new uses for them.
0:29:16 > 0:29:17During the First World War,
0:29:17 > 0:29:20the Tower was a barracks and an Army recruitment centre.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24It would also welcome some new inmates.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29It was during the First World War that the Tower returned
0:29:29 > 0:29:33to a function more closely associated with its medieval roots -
0:29:33 > 0:29:37it became a place of imprisonment and execution.
0:29:37 > 0:29:4111 German spies were shot here.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45But, despite this, it remained open as a tourist attraction.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48It was thought to be good for the nation's morale!
0:29:51 > 0:29:56But in World War II the Tower was shut to the public,
0:29:56 > 0:29:59the moat converted into allotments,
0:29:59 > 0:30:03and the Crown Jewels whisked away to a secret location.
0:30:03 > 0:30:08Captured U-boat crews were imprisoned in the Salt Tower...
0:30:10 > 0:30:15..and Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, was held in the Tower in May 1941.
0:30:18 > 0:30:23It was also a last home to Josef Jakobs, a German spy.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35This is the chair on which Jakobs was sat for his execution.
0:30:37 > 0:30:43He was executed at 7.12 in the morning on 15th August 1941,
0:30:43 > 0:30:48in the East Casement firing range here within the Tower,
0:30:48 > 0:30:51so nearly seven months after his capture -
0:30:51 > 0:30:54a long time for him to brood, to hope.
0:30:54 > 0:30:59He was shot using rifles like this -
0:30:59 > 0:31:04a short magazine, the Enfield, the standard Army-issue weapon...
0:31:05 > 0:31:09..firing a .303 round, a large bullet.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12The body would have been almost torn apart, I suppose.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16There were eight hits,
0:31:16 > 0:31:19seven to the heart, one to the head -
0:31:19 > 0:31:22the heart being the main target.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24The chair says it all, doesn't it?
0:31:24 > 0:31:26The back and the spindles torn away.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28Jakobs sitting here, his heart would have been
0:31:28 > 0:31:32just in front of this area here, the bullets going through.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36Phew, golly! This execution marked the end of a chapter
0:31:36 > 0:31:39in the history of the Tower of London.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42It was the last execution to take place here.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59Around the Tower raged the London Blitz.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03The British people - together with Britain's ancient fabric -
0:32:03 > 0:32:06had never been so vulnerable,
0:32:06 > 0:32:08seemed so fragile.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11EXPLOSIONS
0:32:12 > 0:32:15The historic towns of York, Canterbury,
0:32:15 > 0:32:19Exeter, Bath and Norwich suffered terrible damage.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25And London had it worst.
0:32:27 > 0:32:32From autumn 1940 until the spring of 1941,
0:32:32 > 0:32:35the city suffered intense German bombardment.
0:32:35 > 0:32:41In just 261 days, London sustained 71 air raids.
0:32:47 > 0:32:52During the Blitz, the Tower was a high-value target for the Germans.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56On 7th September 1940, over 80 bombers attacked it
0:32:56 > 0:32:59and the adjoining St Katherine's Dock.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02The Germans believed that the destruction of the Tower
0:33:02 > 0:33:06would help crush the morale of the British people.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13The White Tower escaped damage...
0:33:15 > 0:33:16..but the North Bastion
0:33:16 > 0:33:20and parts of what had been the Royal Mint were destroyed.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25Kensington Palace was badly damaged.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29And Buckingham Palace was hit seven times.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37After the Second World War,
0:33:37 > 0:33:40Britain was in the mood for progress,
0:33:40 > 0:33:44for a world that embraced a brighter future.
0:33:44 > 0:33:49The new taste was for modernism and urban reconstruction.
0:33:52 > 0:33:57It would be a world where everything old and broken was cleared away,
0:33:57 > 0:34:01and where new egalitarian values ruled.
0:34:01 > 0:34:06So the 1950s and '60s were hard times for historic buildings.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15Royal palaces, like country houses, were often seen as irrelevant
0:34:15 > 0:34:18and had muddle through to survive.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23But the world of muddling through came to an abrupt end
0:34:23 > 0:34:26on 31st March 1986,
0:34:26 > 0:34:29when a catastrophic fire broke out at Hampton Court.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31NEWSREADER: The fire last Easter Monday
0:34:31 > 0:34:33caused millions of pounds of damage.
0:34:33 > 0:34:38Worst hit - the historic Cartoon Gallery with its works of art,
0:34:38 > 0:34:39and Lady Daphne Gale,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42widow of Second World War hero General Sir Richard Gale,
0:34:42 > 0:34:45died in her grace and favour apartment above the gallery.
0:34:45 > 0:34:47The fire, in fact, started around midnight,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50most likely from a candle in Lady Gale's bedroom.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53The fire smouldered for about five hours.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58Grace and favour apartments were phased out
0:34:58 > 0:35:02and a new body, the Historic Royal Palaces Agency,
0:35:02 > 0:35:05was created to look after royal buildings that had largely
0:35:05 > 0:35:08ceased to be used in the daily business of monarchy.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12The Tower of London, Hampton Court, the Banqueting House,
0:35:12 > 0:35:14Kensington Palace and Kew Palace
0:35:14 > 0:35:16would operate separately from other royal palaces,
0:35:16 > 0:35:20such as Buckingham Palace and St James's.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23The new body would be responsible
0:35:23 > 0:35:25for making the palaces pay for themselves...
0:35:25 > 0:35:27First door to the left, enjoy.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29..as well as carrying out conservation,
0:35:29 > 0:35:31maintenance and repairs.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36Today, work is about to start
0:35:36 > 0:35:39on the most precious ceiling in Britain.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46The Rubens paintings are undergoing
0:35:46 > 0:35:49one of their regular close-up inspections.
0:35:49 > 0:35:53But this time the inspection marks the beginning of a major
0:35:53 > 0:35:58four-year project to re-present the Banqueting House.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01And now I've got to clamber up that tower.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14I'm climbing up to meet conservator Zoe Roberts,
0:36:14 > 0:36:1655 feet above me.
0:36:16 > 0:36:21She's here to decide if repair work needs to be carried out
0:36:21 > 0:36:25on the fragile 380-year-old canvases on the ceiling.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31I'm not even halfway up yet!
0:36:34 > 0:36:37The ceiling above me is a memorial to James I,
0:36:37 > 0:36:40who died in 1625.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44It was painted by the most famous artist of the day -
0:36:44 > 0:36:47Peter Paul Rubens.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51I can't wait to get up close to this astonishing work of art.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59- It's very mobile, this scaffolding. - It is! It sways quite a lot.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02- Well, Zoe, nice to see you. - And you, nice to meet you.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04Wonderful place to meet.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06And this offers a once in a lifetime -
0:37:06 > 0:37:09or once in several lifetimes - experience, being so close.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12Some people are quite underwhelmed by being this close.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16- Are they?!- Just because it was meant to be viewed from the ground,
0:37:16 > 0:37:20and obviously from up here you see some of the scars
0:37:20 > 0:37:22of its 400-year history.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25What is the particular aim at the moment? Is there an emergency?
0:37:25 > 0:37:26No, certainly not.
0:37:26 > 0:37:30We basically carry out cyclical condition surveys
0:37:30 > 0:37:33of all the paintings we have in our collection.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36At the moment, the painting specialists are up here
0:37:36 > 0:37:38just checking the condition.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40That's, of course, the first point to make, isn't it?
0:37:40 > 0:37:42- That these paintings are survivors. - Amazing.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46They've undergone amazing moments of desperate danger.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49Moments of amazing drama.
0:37:49 > 0:37:54Survival of the fire of Whitehall Palace in 1698,
0:37:54 > 0:37:56survival of Oliver Cromwell,
0:37:56 > 0:38:00- who certainly didn't believe in the divine right of kings.- Of course.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04Survival of the dreadful pollution of London,
0:38:04 > 0:38:07and of the bombings of the Second World War...
0:38:09 > 0:38:13So, essentially, because they were all originally stretched canvases -
0:38:13 > 0:38:15and obviously they're huge canvases -
0:38:15 > 0:38:20over time they sagged, and the Ministry of Works decides
0:38:20 > 0:38:24that they should be mounted onto solid board.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26- So if I tap it now... - HE KNOCKS
0:38:26 > 0:38:29- It's like wood, board.- Solid board. - Not canvas.
0:38:29 > 0:38:34The fact that they were mounted on plywood meant that, in 1940,
0:38:34 > 0:38:37when they wanted to take them out,
0:38:37 > 0:38:39they couldn't take them out of the windows,
0:38:39 > 0:38:42these three big panels, so they had to be sawn up.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46- This is a saw mark from 1940 here. - Yes, absolutely.
0:38:46 > 0:38:50I imagine there is an inherent problem of the compatibility
0:38:50 > 0:38:54of the plywood and the canvas - it must move at different life cycles.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58Yes, absolutely. So that's something in particular that we're checking.
0:38:58 > 0:39:03So we're looking for any movement along the joins,
0:39:03 > 0:39:05where you've got ply boards above.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08What were the big restoration conservation projects
0:39:08 > 0:39:09of the past?
0:39:09 > 0:39:12Presumably, in the 18th century, there must have been
0:39:12 > 0:39:14artists up here, adding, repairing?
0:39:14 > 0:39:19- In the 1730s, William Kent... - The great architect and painter.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21..and painter, absolutely -
0:39:21 > 0:39:25was put in charge of a restoration
0:39:25 > 0:39:29by George I and Queen Caroline.
0:39:29 > 0:39:33And there's a record of them coming up on to the scaffold...
0:39:33 > 0:39:36- The King and Queen? - Absolutely, which I find...
0:39:36 > 0:39:39yeah, quite interesting to imagine.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41- In court dress, do you think? - Well, presumably so!
0:39:41 > 0:39:45Squeezing through the trap doors of the scaffold.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49Yes, and they congratulated him on his fantastic restoration.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53Again, it's a reminder of the high status of the Rubens paintings.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56Ever since they've been here, they've been amongst the nation's
0:39:56 > 0:39:59greatest works of art, they've been regarded as that, haven't they?
0:39:59 > 0:40:01Yes, absolutely.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04So what new techniques have you used to help you explore
0:40:04 > 0:40:08and restore these old works of art?
0:40:08 > 0:40:12One of the techniques that we can use to identify areas of restoration
0:40:12 > 0:40:16is using UV light, because the areas of restoration fluoresce,
0:40:16 > 0:40:20- so shall we have a look? - UV - ultraviolet?- Absolutely.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23They fluoresce?
0:40:23 > 0:40:27- And these have to be worn to protect the eyes?- Exactly.- OK.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30And do you want to have the torch? Because you're taller.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32Righto, so I turn it on...
0:40:32 > 0:40:33Oh, yes, there we are,
0:40:33 > 0:40:36an alarming sort of space-age light comes out of the end.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38Don't shine the light into your eye.
0:40:38 > 0:40:43OK, here's James, and I would say he is as Rubens painted him.
0:40:43 > 0:40:48And any retouch or later works would show up as a dark blotch?
0:40:48 > 0:40:50Yes, darker patches.
0:40:50 > 0:40:52The eyes are OK.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55Ah. OK, good example.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59That area is the restoration material fluorescing.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03Otherwise there's very little, isn't there?
0:41:03 > 0:41:05Yes, so when we use the big UV light
0:41:05 > 0:41:08and we do a complete mapping of the painting,
0:41:08 > 0:41:12it is very reassuring to know that, actually, there are very limited
0:41:12 > 0:41:16areas of restoration and a huge amount of original painting.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19It's easy to take these paintings for granted,
0:41:19 > 0:41:21but let's put them into international context -
0:41:21 > 0:41:23how important are they?
0:41:23 > 0:41:26Well, this work of art is hugely significant
0:41:26 > 0:41:30because it's the only one remaining Rubens ceiling scheme
0:41:30 > 0:41:34still in situ, still in the space for which it was painted.
0:41:34 > 0:41:36Anywhere?
0:41:36 > 0:41:37Anywhere in the world, I believe,
0:41:37 > 0:41:40so it's just hugely, hugely significant.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47Conservation and tourism is a delicate balance.
0:41:47 > 0:41:52More and more human beings bring new problems to the past.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57At Hampton Court Palace, Karen Harris works
0:41:57 > 0:41:59as a preventative conservator.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06- Morning.- Hello.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09- So, I see you're on the hoovering and brushing.- Yes.
0:42:09 > 0:42:11Do you do this a lot?
0:42:11 > 0:42:13For this object, we clean it about every four to six weeks.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17Four to six weeks. And what is the dust composed of?
0:42:17 > 0:42:21It's composed of everything that our visitors bring in,
0:42:21 > 0:42:23so hair, skin, fibres off their clothes.
0:42:23 > 0:42:28It's also all of the stonework from base court outside
0:42:28 > 0:42:30and pollutants from cars, so it's a mixture of lots of things.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33Quite nasty. So the people who come in here,
0:42:33 > 0:42:35their hair's flaking off and skin's flaking off
0:42:35 > 0:42:37- and hairs blowing around... - That's right.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40..and it settles on this wonderful object.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44So, what's the nastiest thing you've had to confront?
0:42:44 > 0:42:47From a dust perspective, it is cleaning dust off
0:42:47 > 0:42:53soft and delicate tapestries, or any other textiles.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55And I imagine you get chewing gum.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57- We do.- Disgraceful.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59A little bit of chewing gum on our historic floors, yes,
0:42:59 > 0:43:02and that has to be removed as soon as it can be.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04It's a wonderful sort of relationship with the fabric
0:43:04 > 0:43:07of the building you must have, because you're regularly
0:43:07 > 0:43:11inspecting it, and seeing things from different angles, close to.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14- You get to know the collection really well.- Yes, yes.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17- What do you think about her?- I have to admit, I think she's beautiful.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20We put her on display in 2009 and I'd been wanting to
0:43:20 > 0:43:24for many years before that, so it's wonderful to see her up close
0:43:24 > 0:43:26and for the visitors to see her. It's fabulous.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28- Who is it, do you think? - I don't know.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30She's called the Empress Roundel, so we're not sure who she is.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33She's one of a pair, but we don't know who she is.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39Hampton Court has some of the best royal tapestries.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42These belonged to Henry VIII.
0:43:44 > 0:43:49Tapestries are amongst the most vulnerable artefacts to keep safe.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51They come from all over the royal palaces
0:43:51 > 0:43:55to a central conservation workshop at Hampton Court,
0:43:55 > 0:43:57where Mika Takami is in charge.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03- Hello.- Hello.- How do you do? - Nice to meet you.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07- This is absolutely wonderful. - Thank you.- Which tapestry is this?
0:44:07 > 0:44:10This is one of the early-17th-century tapestries,
0:44:10 > 0:44:14commissioned and purchased by Charles I.
0:44:14 > 0:44:18This was woven in the Mortlake tapestry workshop.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20It's an English tapestry.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24This is part of a set called The Seasons.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27The Seasons series represents 12 months of the year.
0:44:27 > 0:44:29So what are the problems?
0:44:29 > 0:44:31Is it just wear and tear through age or something?
0:44:31 > 0:44:34You just walked in at the very last stage of the conservation,
0:44:34 > 0:44:39so you don't see how bad and how fragile originally it was,
0:44:39 > 0:44:44but the main problem was lots of slits and tears and holes.
0:44:44 > 0:44:49The fact that it has been on open display in Kensington Palace,
0:44:49 > 0:44:53- very close to the visitor route... - People sweating, bodies, moisture...
0:44:53 > 0:44:57..yes, but also the fluctuation in temperature, humidity,
0:44:57 > 0:45:01and the biggest contributor to the deterioration is the light.
0:45:01 > 0:45:02- The light?- Yes.
0:45:02 > 0:45:07- There's wool in this, as well? - Yes, silk, wool and metal thread.
0:45:07 > 0:45:09Therefore presumably moth is a problem?
0:45:09 > 0:45:11Yes, the pest is always the problem.
0:45:11 > 0:45:14What do you do to protect it from moth?
0:45:14 > 0:45:19We can't spray anything, we can't use the mothball,
0:45:19 > 0:45:22because it might have an effect on the dyes,
0:45:22 > 0:45:25so what we do is a regular condition check,
0:45:25 > 0:45:27annually if not every other year,
0:45:27 > 0:45:29and also we surface clean
0:45:29 > 0:45:34and then look at every inch of the tapestry with a magnifier,
0:45:34 > 0:45:37so it is a never-ending, ongoing job.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42And like a never-ending detective story,
0:45:42 > 0:45:45the search for new clues to the past goes on.
0:45:47 > 0:45:52Up in the attic at Hampton Court is a storeroom of palace fragments.
0:45:53 > 0:45:57Co-chief curator Tracey Borman is going to unpack some.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01Well, what a treasure trove of objects.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05It's an absolute treasure trove, and a very eclectic one.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08This is where we keep all the items that aren't on public display,
0:46:08 > 0:46:11and there are some very surprising finds in here, actually,
0:46:11 > 0:46:15from all the palaces, not just Hampton Court.
0:46:15 > 0:46:18- And I'm going to start with one that was from there...- Right.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22..at Hampton Court, from Henry VIII's heyday.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24Ah! Very exciting.
0:46:24 > 0:46:28- Put my gloves on so I can handle it. - Yes, we'll need our gloves on.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34Before I reveal, I shall do the same because,
0:46:34 > 0:46:38it being an original Tudor object, we need to be particularly careful.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42- And reverential too.- And absolutely reverential to this one.
0:46:42 > 0:46:43From the palace.
0:46:43 > 0:46:46Oh! That is fascinating.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49- So it's a ceiling detail. - It's a roundel, yes.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52It's from the Great Watching Chamber,
0:46:52 > 0:46:56- which is immediately next to the Great Hall.- Yes, yes.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00You may recall that, actually, the ceiling at the moment
0:47:00 > 0:47:04is dazzlingly bright, it's very heavily gilded,
0:47:04 > 0:47:06and it's got all of these over it.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08It's decorated with these roundels.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10It's actually a leather mache.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13This is wonderful, this is leather mache,
0:47:13 > 0:47:15so this is baked and pressed leather?
0:47:15 > 0:47:19Exactly, in different parts, so the outer part is one section,
0:47:19 > 0:47:21then this, and you can see how
0:47:21 > 0:47:25it's rather rudely nailed in, and that's why it's ended up here,
0:47:25 > 0:47:29because the vibrations eventually worked the nails free
0:47:29 > 0:47:32and the roundels started to drop off.
0:47:32 > 0:47:34OK, that's my question - why is it here,
0:47:34 > 0:47:37not where it should be on the ceiling? It's too fragile.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40Yes, in fact there are only three or four original roundels
0:47:40 > 0:47:42still on the ceiling. The rest all date from
0:47:42 > 0:47:45the Victorian period, and they look pristine.
0:47:45 > 0:47:49They're very faithful replicas but, nevertheless, this is the original.
0:47:49 > 0:47:51Of course, we have to conserve.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55So that's one reason, or one route to things being here,
0:47:55 > 0:47:58not where they should be, on display in the building -
0:47:58 > 0:48:01they're simply too fragile, too damaged to live, really.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03Absolutely.
0:48:03 > 0:48:07And we're staying with Henry, actually, for the next item.
0:48:07 > 0:48:12- But a different palace this time. I think it's a surprising one.- Oh!
0:48:13 > 0:48:15You're in for a treat.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21It doesn't, on the surface, look all that surprising,
0:48:21 > 0:48:23- but when you hear what it is... - Ceramics.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25Oh, I say, it is a nice Tudor-y green.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28Very nice Tudor-y green. If I hand that over to you...
0:48:28 > 0:48:32- It's from the original Whitehall. - Oh, Whitehall! Ah!
0:48:32 > 0:48:34- Henry's central London pad.- Yes.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38And this is fascinating, because the room it is from
0:48:38 > 0:48:43- is not a public room. It is from Henry's bathroom.- Oh.
0:48:43 > 0:48:48And it is a stove that would have created a Turkish bath, really,
0:48:48 > 0:48:51for Henry, filled the room with steam,
0:48:51 > 0:48:55and he'd have been there lounging like some kind of Roman emperor.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59- How astonishing.- I know. - So he had a Roman steam bath?- Yes.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01A heated bath, a heated room.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04I was astonished when I learned about this object.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08One doesn't associate the Tudors with sort of Roman bath style...
0:49:08 > 0:49:12- No, with bathing much. - Bathing generally, exactly!
0:49:12 > 0:49:16He's living like a Roman emperor, but the objects creating the heat
0:49:16 > 0:49:19are Renaissance in their detail. It's amazing.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21It's incredible, isn't it?
0:49:21 > 0:49:24A cherub here, winged, holding a swag of some sort
0:49:24 > 0:49:27and up here there's a bird.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29It's an eagle, I think, up there.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32This is Henry fancying himself as a Roman emperor,
0:49:32 > 0:49:35even in the privacy of his bathroom.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39The idea that we're getting a glimpse behind the scenes in Henry's world
0:49:39 > 0:49:42is quite extraordinary, through these two items here.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45And you don't often see objects
0:49:45 > 0:49:48- relating to Henry's private life in this way.- Yeah.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51It's all about the public show, the public rooms.
0:49:51 > 0:49:53This is so moving.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56It is, it's one of my favourite objects, it's extraordinary.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58Gosh, I can't put it down.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01It's wonderful, it's a glimpse into another side of Henry
0:50:01 > 0:50:03that we didn't know that much about.
0:50:04 > 0:50:08What we have here, we're fast-forwarding now
0:50:08 > 0:50:11to the end of the 17th century, and we have remnants
0:50:11 > 0:50:15- of the Tijou Screen, the famous Tijou Screen that...- Oh, yes.
0:50:15 > 0:50:17- It survives, doesn't it? - Yes, it does survive,
0:50:17 > 0:50:19and it's on the waterside,
0:50:19 > 0:50:22it's a beautiful, elaborate gate on the waterside.
0:50:22 > 0:50:26But these pieces here were just getting too damaged,
0:50:26 > 0:50:29too fragile to remain on display, so they were replicated
0:50:29 > 0:50:33very faithfully, but we retained the originals, of course.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36Lots of masks. This is a lovely one here.
0:50:36 > 0:50:38- Can I pick this one up? - Oh, do, do.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41- It is a wonderful faun-like thing. - Exactly.
0:50:41 > 0:50:44And here's the face, but you can see
0:50:44 > 0:50:47that it is very corroded, the fixings are damaged.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50- It does look one of the most fragile of the items, actually.- Yes.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53But in its heyday - and we have recreated it -
0:50:53 > 0:50:56it would have been quite extraordinary.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58- It's a wonderful mask, isn't it? - Yes, it is.
0:50:58 > 0:51:02It gives a sense of, you know, the fun and the masking
0:51:02 > 0:51:04- and everything else of the court. - Absolutely.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07OK, so they're stored up here really to protect them
0:51:07 > 0:51:10from the weather and, I suppose, even from the public.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13I'm afraid there has been some vandalism,
0:51:13 > 0:51:16and these items have suffered as a result of that.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19It's desperately sad, but the screen is...
0:51:19 > 0:51:23It's on the riverside, you know, it is quite vulnerable,
0:51:23 > 0:51:26not just to the elements, but to potential vandals, as well.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30Indeed, and one really now does appreciate the delicacy,
0:51:30 > 0:51:33again, which is why this collection is so fantastic,
0:51:33 > 0:51:35because one can really become intimate with the object,
0:51:35 > 0:51:38see how it is made and see the delicacy and the precision.
0:51:38 > 0:51:42This is it, yes, this is what I really love about this collection.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45You get a sense of the people who made the palaces.
0:51:45 > 0:51:47It's not just about, you know,
0:51:47 > 0:51:49a beautiful ready-made thing that just landed here.
0:51:49 > 0:51:53You get a sense of the craftsmanship and the labour involved.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56And that's certainly the case with this screen, I think.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03Just about every day at one of the historic royal palaces
0:52:03 > 0:52:06some essential work will be going on.
0:52:07 > 0:52:11Today, a new drawbridge is put through its paces
0:52:11 > 0:52:13at the Tower of London...
0:52:15 > 0:52:19..vital repointing between the 500-year-old Tudor bricks
0:52:19 > 0:52:20at Hampton Court...
0:52:22 > 0:52:24..and the tricky business of rehanging
0:52:24 > 0:52:27repaired ancient tapestries in the Great Hall.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30Slowly.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32Kate, slow down.
0:52:35 > 0:52:36Yes.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43The conservation costs a fortune,
0:52:43 > 0:52:46so the business of making palaces pay for themselves
0:52:46 > 0:52:48is ever more important,
0:52:48 > 0:52:52and in the modern world, sometimes things need to get adventurous,
0:52:52 > 0:52:55even experimental, to get noticed.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58WHISPERED RECORDING: But to remember Queen Anne,
0:52:58 > 0:53:02always with child, but none surviving...
0:53:04 > 0:53:08At Kensington Palace, 18 small chairs evoke the tragedy
0:53:08 > 0:53:10of Queen Anne's many failed pregnancies
0:53:10 > 0:53:12and children who died young.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15It's an attempt to bring to life
0:53:15 > 0:53:18the late Stuart monarchs who lived here.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22Head of Kensington Palace Natasha Woollard explains.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26So, tell me about the thinking behind this particular presentation
0:53:26 > 0:53:29of the interior of the palace.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31Well, for the Queen's State apartments
0:53:31 > 0:53:34we wanted to be quite playful, we wanted to give people
0:53:34 > 0:53:37a sense of the journey that William and Mary made
0:53:37 > 0:53:39when they came over to Britain.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41What you've created is very striking.
0:53:41 > 0:53:45Of course, in a way, the major thing here is the historic interior,
0:53:45 > 0:53:47the wonderful panelling on the staircase.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49These creations slightly distract from it,
0:53:49 > 0:53:51slightly obscure it, don't they?
0:53:51 > 0:53:53Yes, that is a challenge, and I think with heritage
0:53:53 > 0:53:55there is always the art and the architecture,
0:53:55 > 0:53:56the master craftsmanship,
0:53:56 > 0:53:59and there's always the people's stories alongside.
0:53:59 > 0:54:01For us, at this particular time,
0:54:01 > 0:54:03we wanted to tell the story of William and Mary coming here
0:54:03 > 0:54:05and who they were.
0:54:05 > 0:54:07It's not a period very well-known in history,
0:54:07 > 0:54:10so actually we wanted to evoke the drama of that journey.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12This obviously is meant to engage the visitor,
0:54:12 > 0:54:15let them use their imagination.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18Yeah, absolutely. Imagination, curiosity - who were these figures?
0:54:18 > 0:54:19Why did they come on a journey?
0:54:19 > 0:54:21"Why don't I know about them?"
0:54:21 > 0:54:23sometimes is the question we get asked.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26Who were William and Mary? Why do we always talk about them together?
0:54:26 > 0:54:29There's a lovely story about the only diarchy we've ever had.
0:54:29 > 0:54:30So there's great stories,
0:54:30 > 0:54:34but of course it doesn't mean this has to be the story for ever.
0:54:39 > 0:54:41And this is the Queen's Gallery.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44Now, this is a kind of slightly more conventional presentation
0:54:44 > 0:54:46of an historic interior, isn't it?
0:54:46 > 0:54:49The panelling, wonderful fire surround,
0:54:49 > 0:54:50paintings and furniture.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53So this is how things used to be, isn't it?
0:54:53 > 0:54:56Well, we haven't completely left it how it used to be.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59- I notice the birds. - The birds, yes.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02- What are they about? - That's the question we get asked,
0:55:02 > 0:55:05and actually the story is quite simple.
0:55:05 > 0:55:06They denote journeys,
0:55:06 > 0:55:09they also denote the blue-and-white china
0:55:09 > 0:55:11which Mary was so much a fan of.
0:55:11 > 0:55:15But also we know that Queen Mary kept birdcages in here with songbirds,
0:55:15 > 0:55:18so we're telling very many stories with these birds.
0:55:18 > 0:55:22So this is a way of invoking history, the fact,
0:55:22 > 0:55:24but in an imaginative way.
0:55:24 > 0:55:28- Yes, imaginative. - Engage the public's interest.- Yeah.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36And now we're in Queen Mary's bedroom.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38Here, of course, the display does rather overwhelm
0:55:38 > 0:55:42the historic interior and the bed. What is the intention here?
0:55:42 > 0:55:46Well, this is a very difficult story to tell here, it's a crisis moment.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50There is no Stuart heir, Queen Anne had produced no heir,
0:55:50 > 0:55:53and actually there is a hunt for the next monarch,
0:55:53 > 0:55:57and they go through so many people to find a Protestant who can take over,
0:55:57 > 0:55:59and eventually they find him.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02In fact, they find his mother, but she dies around the same time
0:56:02 > 0:56:05as Anne, so actually we have to go to George I.
0:56:05 > 0:56:09So this is a sort of symbol of the hunt that people go through,
0:56:09 > 0:56:12the family tree they have to go through to find that next monarch.
0:56:12 > 0:56:13What was the public response?
0:56:13 > 0:56:16Some people are surprised but absolutely delighted
0:56:16 > 0:56:19that what they thought was a fusty, dusty old house
0:56:19 > 0:56:21actually is doing things really in a different way.
0:56:21 > 0:56:25Other people are horrified and think that it takes away and dumbs down.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28We don't think it does, because we think it challenges you
0:56:28 > 0:56:30to ask questions and actually to engage and connect
0:56:30 > 0:56:33emotionally with the stories, rather than the sort of passive
0:56:33 > 0:56:37heritage experience you can get where you just read a panel of text,
0:56:37 > 0:56:40where you walk through a room and don't really know what's going on.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43So, horses for courses, some people love it, some people hate it,
0:56:43 > 0:56:45but it does engage them either way.
0:56:47 > 0:56:50Kensington Palace is both a working palace,
0:56:50 > 0:56:54with private apartments and offices for members of the Royal Family,
0:56:54 > 0:56:58and a palace open to the public all year round.
0:57:02 > 0:57:05MUSIC: "The National Anthem"
0:57:05 > 0:57:08But at the Tudor palace of St James's,
0:57:08 > 0:57:12the daily business of monarchy occupies a whole building.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21Today, the Prince of Wales is honouring helicopter crews
0:57:21 > 0:57:25who've recently returned from tours of duty in Afghanistan.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29Such events confirm the importance of functioning royal palaces
0:57:29 > 0:57:31to the identity of the nation.
0:57:44 > 0:57:50Britain's royal palaces are secure, despite daunting maintenance costs.
0:57:50 > 0:57:53Indeed, Historic Royal Palaces has recently added
0:57:53 > 0:57:56Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland to its portfolio,
0:57:56 > 0:57:59and others may soon follow.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02In the future there's likely to be a review of Britain's
0:58:02 > 0:58:06historic royal palaces to decide which remain in royal use
0:58:06 > 0:58:10and which find new lives as museums or art galleries.
0:58:11 > 0:58:16Whatever a review might decide about the future of our royal palaces,
0:58:16 > 0:58:20perhaps even the future of Buckingham Palace,
0:58:20 > 0:58:23they remain a key part of our national identity.
0:58:27 > 0:58:31Our palaces are repositories of beauty and national memories,
0:58:31 > 0:58:34important to all of us.
0:58:37 > 0:58:40How we make decisions about these great buildings
0:58:40 > 0:58:44is part of ongoing delicate negotiations,
0:58:44 > 0:58:46and will depend on the developing character
0:58:46 > 0:58:50of the British monarchy in the years to come.