Key ceremony
The key ceremony (English. Ceremony of the Keys ) is a ceremony in the Tower of London . The ceremony goes back to the time of the Tudors and has been carried out in its current sequence since 1914. The Chief Warder , accompanied by regular soldiers, goes through the gates and guards of the tower and has them locked. The ceremony ends at 10 p.m. sharp with a tattoo on the tower green of the locked fortress .
Emergence
The process of the ceremony including the uniforms worn and the spoken formulas developed during the reign of Queen Victoria . It was created at a time when the tower was increasingly losing its military functions and was developing into an exhibition and tourist location. During this time, the construction of the tower was redesigned to create a neo-Gothic architecture that is supposed to look medieval.
The origins of the ceremony probably go back to the time of the Tudors. During these years the tower was used as a prison particularly often. The prisoners were often of high social standing. Many of them were allowed to move within the tower and enter open spaces such as the Tower Green . The key ceremony was to ensure that all prisoners were in their places in the evening and could not escape from the fortress overnight. The accompaniment of the guard by several soldiers as well as the exchange of passwords was supposed to ensure that no friends or relatives of the prisoners could get hold of the keys.
During the Second World War, the ceremony was postponed several times, as fire extinguishing work in the Tower enjoyed priority during the London Blitz . No regular troops were stationed in the Tower between 1942 and 1945, so the ceremony was only performed by the Yeomen Warders during those years.
procedure
At 9:53 p.m. Chief Yeoman Warder leaves his quarters in the Byward Tower with a lantern and the keys to the tower in hand. At the transition to the outer fortress ring, at the Bloody Tower , he meets a delegation of four regular soldiers who accompany him. One of the soldiers picks up Yeoman Warder's lantern. One after the other, Chief Yeoman Warder locks the gates of the Middle Tower and Byward Tower. The guards at the respective gates present him with their weapons.
He returns to the Bloody Tower, where a guard asks him to identify himself.
- The guard asks, "Stop! Who is coming?"
- Chief Warder: "The keys."
- Guard: "Whose key?"
- Chief Warder: "The Queen's Keys."
- Guard: "Passed it, Queen's key. Everything is fine."
After this ritualized exchange of questions and answers, the group steps into the inner fortress ring. There the entire guard of the tower, who stood there, salutes. Chief Yeoman Warder then takes two steps forward, lifts his Tudor hat and says "God preserve Queen Elisabeth", to which the palace guards respond with "Amen". Then Chief Yeoman Warder brings the keys to the Tower Governor's residence for the night. At the end of the ceremony there will be a tattoo on Tower Green.
Tourists can attend the ceremony, but must register in advance. Therefore, the ceremony is often booked out several months in advance.
Remarks
- ↑ a b Raeburn p. 122
- ↑ Raeburn p. 123
- ↑ a b Paget p. 36
- ^ Historic Royal Palaces: Ceremony of the Keys
literature
- Julian Paget: Discovering London Ceremonials and Traditions Osprey Publishing, 2008 ISBN 0747804087 , pp. 36-37
- WDM Raeburn: Ceremonies of the Tower in: John Charlton (Ed.): The Tower of London. Its Buildings and Institutions. Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London 1978, ISBN 0-11-670347-4 , pp. 122-129