The Tower of London is locked every night at 21:30, and you can watch it, but not for free and not on a whim. Tickets are released online at 13:00 on the first working day of each month for the following month only, and on the copy of Historic Royal Palaces' page we could read, dated 18 July 2026, you chose your own price between £10 and £50, with £30 suggested.
That single paragraph contains everything most guidebooks get wrong. The Ceremony of the Keys was free for many years and is often still described that way. It is not. Nor is it a ballot, and nor can you book six months ahead: the booking window is about a month long, it opens at a fixed time on a fixed day, and the dates go quickly.
What you get is thirty-five minutes in a floodlit fortress after the public has gone home, watching the Chief Yeoman Warder lock the gates with an escort of the Tower Guard, in a ritual that Historic Royal Palaces describes as 700 years old. Our guide to the Tower of London covers the daytime visit; this page is about the night.
Ceremony of the Keys: the practical frame
- When
- Every night, 21:30 to 22:05
- Price
- Choose your own, £10 to £50, suggested £30 (page read 18 July 2026)
- Booking
- Online only, in advance. No tickets on the door, ever
- Tickets released
- 13:00 on the first working day of the month, for the whole of the following month
- Maximum
- 6 tickets per applicant. Named ticket holder must attend
- Arrive by
- 21:25 at the West Gate. Latecomers are not admitted
- Not allowed
- Photography at any point; group, school or tour-operator bookings
- Facilities
- None. No toilets, no refreshments
How the booking actually works
Tickets go on sale on a rolling monthly cycle. At 13:00 on the first working day of a month, Historic Royal Palaces releases every date in the month after it. So the release on 1 March covers the whole of April. If the first working day falls on a Friday, the release moves to the following Monday, which is why the release that covered September 2026 happened on Monday 3 August rather than Saturday 1 August.
Working the same rule forwards gives the dates a visitor can plan around:
| Release at 13:00 London time | Dates released |
|---|---|
| Thursday 1 October 2026 | All of November 2026 |
| Monday 2 November 2026 | All of December 2026 |
| Tuesday 1 December 2026 | All of January 2027 |
| Monday 4 January 2027 | All of February 2027 |
| Monday 1 February 2027 | All of March 2027 |
| Monday 1 March 2027 | All of April 2027 |
The January 2027 entry is worth a second look. The first day of that month is a Friday and a bank holiday, so by the palaces' own rule the release slips to Monday 4 January. We have applied the published rule to the calendar rather than reading those dates on the site, so confirm the date before you set an alarm.
One month ahead is the whole horizon, so a fixed holiday needs luck. If you are in London for a week in June, you cannot book in March. You have to be at a computer at 13:00 on the first working day of May, competing with everyone else who wants the same fortnight. If your dates are flexible, aim for a midweek night in January or February rather than a Saturday in August.
What it costs, and what happened to "free"
On the page we read in July 2026, Historic Royal Palaces had moved to a choose-your-price model: any amount between £10.00 and £50.00 per ticket, with £30.00 suggested and £10.00 named as the base price for anyone for whom affordability is an issue. The charity explains that it receives no government or royal funding and that the money maintains the Tower and its five other sites.
Two cautions. First, the page presents this as the arrangement for that month, so the range may move; check the price on the booking page before you plan a budget. Second, bookings are non-refundable and non-exchangeable, and the palaces say plainly that they cannot amend tickets for this event. For a family of four at the suggested price, that is £120 that cannot be moved if your flight is delayed. At the £10 base price it is £40, and nobody will ask you why you chose it.
Compared with the daytime ticket at £37.00 for an adult, this is not expensive for what it is. Compared with the free ceremonies elsewhere in London, it is a real cost: our guides to Changing of the Guard and to gun salutes cover two royal set-pieces you can watch from the street for nothing.
The rules that get people turned away
This is a small event inside a working fortress, and the conditions are enforced rather than advertised. The ones that matter:
- The named ticket holder must be there. If the person whose name is on the booking does not turn up, the whole party is refused.
- One booking per household. Multiple bookings under the same name, email address or postal address may be cancelled, and refused at the gate on the night.
- No groups, no schools, no tour operators. Third-party bookings are cancelled. If a tour company offers you Ceremony of the Keys tickets, that is a reason to doubt the company.
- No waiting list. Cancelled tickets go back into the booking system, so the only tactic for a sold-out date is to keep checking.
- Six tickets maximum per applicant.
- No photography during any part of the ceremony.
The evening itself, minute by minute
The meeting point is the main entrance on the west side, the West Gate, the same way you go in during the day. Be there by 21:25. The party is admitted under escort at 21:30 precisely and taken inside; the ceremony runs to 22:05, after which everyone is escorted back out. There are no toilets and nothing to eat or drink, so deal with both beforehand.
The exchange at the heart of it is short and is the reason people come. The sentry challenges: "Halt, who comes there?" The Yeoman Warder answers, "The keys." "Whose keys?" "King Charles' keys." "Pass then, all's well." Historic Royal Palaces says this is the exact wording used for centuries apart from the monarch's name.
Dress for standing outside in the dark on stone for half an hour. In January that means a proper coat; the Tower sits on the river and the wind comes off it. There is no seating and no shelter in the part of the site you will be standing in.
Accessibility, and the carer ticket
Historic Royal Palaces states that accessibility for this event is limited, which is honest: the route is over cobbles and through gateways in a medieval fortress at night. Anyone with access requirements is asked to email the Tower before booking. Carer tickets are not bought online; you book for everyone in your party except the carer, then reply to the booking confirmation email to ask for the carer's place.
If that rules the evening out, the daytime visit is far better provided for, and our guide to how long the Tower of London takes explains how to pace it. More generally, visiting London with a disability sets out what to check before booking anything historic.
Getting there, and getting home at 22:05
Tower Hill on the District and Circle lines is about five minutes' walk from the West Gate, and it is the station to use both ways. Trains are still running comfortably at quarter past ten, and the walk out of the Tower precinct is short and well lit. Our guide to the District and Circle lines covers the route, and first and last Tube trains has the timings if you are heading somewhere with a single late connection.
Because the ceremony starts at 21:30, the evening needs planning around it rather than the other way round. Eat early and nearby: where to eat near the Tower of London names places that serve before 20:00, which matters on a Sunday in the City of London, where much of the area shuts at the weekend. If you have an hour to fill first, Tower Bridge is floodlit and two minutes away.
Is it worth it?
Book it if
- You can be online at 13:00 on the release day, a month ahead
- You like the idea of the Tower empty, at night, with no crowd
- Your dates are flexible enough to take a weekday
- You are travelling as two to six people, not a group tour
Skip it if
- Your trip is more than two months away and fixed
- You want photographs; none are allowed
- You need step-free access or a seat
- You are travelling with small children who will be asleep by 21:30
For anyone who has already done the daytime Tower and wants a second, quieter look at the same walls, it is one of the best evenings in London. For a first-time visitor on a tight schedule it is a lot of planning for thirty-five minutes, and choosing between the Tower and Windsor Castle is a more useful decision to spend the effort on. Our list of what to book before you go to London puts this near the top for a reason, and London at night has the alternatives if you miss out.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Ceremony of the Keys free?
No, not any more. On the Historic Royal Palaces page we read on 18 July 2026, tickets were sold on a choose-your-price basis from £10.00 to £50.00, with £30.00 suggested. Older guidebooks and blogs still describe it as free or as costing a small booking fee. Check the current price on the official booking page.
How far in advance can you book the Ceremony of the Keys?
About one month. Tickets are released at 13:00 on the first working day of each month and cover the whole of the following month, so at the start of March you can book any night in April but nothing in May. There is no ballot and no waiting list, and popular dates go within minutes.
What time does the Ceremony of the Keys start and finish?
Visitors are admitted under escort at 21:30 exactly and should arrive at the West Gate by 21:25. Late arrivals are not let in. The ceremony finishes at 22:05, after which everyone is escorted out of the Tower, so you are back on the street by about ten past ten.
Can you take photographs at the Ceremony of the Keys?
No. Photography is not permitted during any part of the ceremony. If pictures of the Tower after dark are what you want, the outside of the fortress and Tower Bridge are both floodlit and free to photograph from the riverside walk.
Can a tour operator get me Ceremony of the Keys tickets?
No. Historic Royal Palaces does not accept bookings from groups, schools or third parties including tour operators, and says such bookings will be cancelled. Any company offering to obtain tickets for you is offering something it cannot reliably deliver, and the booking may be refused on the night.
Sources
- Historic Royal Palaces - Ceremony of the Keys (Internet Archive copy, 18 July 2026; the live site blocks our requests) (checked September 2026)
- Historic Royal Palaces - Ceremony of the Keys, official booking page (checked September 2026)
- Historic Royal Palaces - Tower of London tickets and prices (checked September 2026)
- Historic Royal Palaces - Getting to the Tower of London (checked September 2026)
- GOV.UK - UK bank holidays, used to identify the first working day of each month (checked September 2026)