Ceremony of the Keys Is London’s Best Deal Available to Visitors

Creating a list of must see places in London is pretty easy for us. Because there is so much to see in and around the British capital, the list of places that we’d recommend a second visit to is much smaller. Visiting the Tower of London is at the top of that list for us,  especially if you get the chance to witness the Ceremony of the Keys London.

On our first visit to London, the Tower of London was our first tour. It was also one of our favorite tours as well, diving deep into the history of Britain and the monarchy. There are few places in the world that have witnessed more history than the grounds inside the walls of the Tower. If you are planning a visit to the Tower of London, check out our guide, Planning guide for visit to Tower of London to help with your first visit. Once you’ve had the full tour, we recommend you book a second visit for the Ceremony of the Keys.

What is the Ceremony of the Keys London?

The Ceremony of the Keys is the closing ceremony for the Tower of London. This ceremony is performed to exacting standards, perfectly executed and timed to end at a precise time each night. This ceremony has been performed exactly the same way for over 700 years.

The Ceremony of the Keys history dates back to 1340, though a formal locking and unlocking of the Tower gates started even earlier. Locking of the gates was very important then, and remains so today. The history of the Tower includes being the home to the Royal Mint where all the money was created. Then as it is today, the Tower is also the home to the Royal Jewels. So when King Edward III walked in unchallenged, it became necessary to formalize the security at the Tower, decreeing that the castle should be locked at sunset and unlocked at sunrise each day.

Details of the ceremony are expected to be executed precisely as instructed by the Tower’s Yeoman Warders, also known as the Beefeaters. How many Beefeaters are involved in the closing, their positioning on the grounds, the words spoken and the timing of the events are all scripted.

The ceremony you can see each night in London is the same as it has been since 1826 near the archway of the Bloody Tower. The ceremony concludes as the clock chimes for 10PM. At 9:53PM, the Chief Yeoman Warder comes out with a lantern lit by a candle carrying a set of keys. Those are the King’s Keys. He is then escorted by soldiers; two sentries, a sergeant and another guard who is the bugler. The process is choreographed with precision, as the group marches to first the outer gate, and then the inner gates, locking up the Tower of London. 

Walking down the lane, you will hear the sentry shout out, “Halt! Who comes there?” 

The Yeoman Warder replies, “The keys.”

“Who’s keys?”

“King Charles’s keys.”

Visiting Tower of London, you are guided by a Beefeater, who explains the ceremony in detail and what you can expect. In our case, our guide was Moira Cameron, the second female Beefeater ever at the Tower of London. She was also our host for our first visit to the Tower, where we witnessed the open ceremony. Moira is a fantastic host, interjecting a great deal of humor along with detailed history of the ceremony and of the Tower itself. 

Your Witnessing History

The setting to see this daily historic event is very intimate. Only a handful of people get the opportunity to witness it on a daily basis. There are two ways to get tickets for this event. 

There are full Tower of London tours that are after hours, and allow you the opportunity to see the grounds and witness the Ceremony of the Keys. Those tour are pricey, around $200. Our recommendation is to visit the Tower during the day, see the opening ceremony if that works with your schedule and budget, and then secure tickets directly from the Tower of London site for the Ceremony of the Keys.

Getting Tickets

A very limited number Ceremony of the Keys tickets are made available each day for only £5. You have to know how and when to secure these Ceremony of the Keys tickets. They are only available online, and must be booked well in advance. It takes some planning, but you will save a lot of money and have a better experience. When the Yeoman Warder is explaining the events of the ceremony, they are speaking with this small group. This small group also has the best views of all the action.

Tickets are released for purchase once per month, and when they are gone that’s it. Tickets for the Ceremony of the Keys are released on the first business day of the month at 4PM London time. Unless that day is on a Friday, when the release day is pushed back to the following Monday. The maximum number of tickets you can purchase is six. By purchasing these special tickets for the Ceremony of the Keys, your name is entered into the official guest book at the Tower of London.

These tickets are non transferrable. Whomever purchases the tickets must show up the night booked or they are invalid. Because of the exact timing for the Ceremony of the Keys, not late arrivals are accepted. Ticket holders are greeted at the West Gate no later than 9:30PM, and then are escorted into position. Pro tip – don’t cut it too close like we did, and get there a few minutes early. The deadline is unwavering, and we finally made it to the gate just at deadline.

From your arrival time to departure, you’ll only be at the Tower of London for about 45 minutes. The official ceremony concludes at 10:05 PM. Although the Tower of London is officially locked, they have a special exit for participants to leave the facility. You will not have access to roam the grounds, visit the gift shop or use the restroom. Plan ahead! If anyone in your party has accessibility issues, you can arrange ahead of time with the staff.

London can be an expensive place to visit, especially if you want to tour the multitude of historic locations. At only £5, the Ceremony of the Keys is a great deal. You get to see the historic grounds of the Tower of London, as well as feel like a VIP witnessing a 700+ year old ceremony.

There are a few downsides to taking in this ceremony. You cannot be late, you cannot transfer your ticket to someone else and you cannot take any photos, videos or audio recordings while you’re at this ceremony. The rule of no photos, videos or audio is strictly enforced. 

You can check out more about the Tower of London along with some of our other UK adventures to learn more.