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.

View Report
Report snapshot
4 Views

📋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

Related reports

All Arts, Culture & Heritage reports →
2025 Enhanced
National Youth Jazz Orchestra

National Youth Jazz Orchestra Annual Report 2024–25

3,943 young people reached across 279 learning sessions in 16 programmes; 46 public performances reaching 8,517 audience members
Key Metric 1
100+ Emerging Professionals supported with 159 paid performance opportunities; 32% from regions beyond London; 32% from African, Asian, Caribbean or Mixed Heritage backgrounds
Key Metric 2
46% of Under-18 participants receive bursaries; 46% benefit from free access (Pupil Premium, free school meals or low-income families)
Key Metric 3
Largest single concert audience of 1,500 for British Standard Time at Berlin's Konzerthaus; NYJO Under 18s alumni have gone on to Birmingham Conservatoire, Leeds Conservatoire and Cambridge University
Arts, Culture & Heritage London
View
2023
BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts)

Annual Report and Accounts 2023

12,950 global members across film, games and television in 2023, including 9,182 full members and 2,331 BAFTA Connect members
Key Metric 1
EE BAFTA Film Awards broadcast averaged 2.62 million viewers on BBC One — an increase on the prior two years; simulcast in 8 countries via BritBox with rights sold to 80+ territories
Key Metric 2
BAFTA View unique viewings by voting members increased 53% for Film; average films watched per member rose 51%
Key Metric 3
More member socials, events and screenings held in 2023 than any previous year across UK and North America
Arts, Culture & Heritage Sustainability
View
2025
The Royal Ballet School

Annual Report 2024-25

24 graduating students secured professional contracts with ballet companies in 2023/24, including 6 joining The Royal Ballet as Aud Jebsen Young Dancers
Key Metric 1
Students trained for The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and prestigious companies across Europe and North America
Key Metric 2
£4.31 million in government grants received in year ending August 2024, supporting access and inclusion for talented UK students
Key Metric 3
New Artistic Director and CEO both commenced in late 2024, leading the School into its second century of training
Arts, Culture & Heritage Young People
View