The Ceremony of the Keys is a remarkable tradition that takes place every evening at the Tower of London. At exactly 9:53pm the Chief Yeoman Warder, accompanied by members of the Queen's Guard, secure the gates of the tower for the evening. The ceremony is remarkable for two reasons. Firstly it's brevity - it takes no more than seven minutes from beginning to end. And secondly it's endurance - the ceremony has taken place every evening without fail for over 760 years.
In the morning the ceremony is reversed and the gates are re-opened. The evening ceremony is open to the public and the tickets are free but you have to be patient as they are only released on a strictly limited basis. We booked our tickets at the end of 2015 to view the ceremony on the 23rd of December 2016.
