The Tower of London and other historic royal palaces will close tomorrow evening.
With coronavirus cases on the rise and the November lockdown less than 48 hours away, the Tower of London has become the latest London attraction to announce their closure to the public – or, as they’re putting it “raising the drawbridge”. If you’re going to pick a place to wait out a pandemic, I can certainly think of worse places than a fortress, but this is a sad case of déjà vu, as the second time the Tower has closed since March. (Featured image: @historicroyalpalaces)
In a statement posted to Facebook, Tower officials said:
“It has been an absolute pleasure to share our fortress with you again, and we’re so grateful to everyone who has supported our charity during this difficult time by visiting.
[…] Like many organisations, our finances have been devastated by the pandemic. We face a £100 million shortfall this year alone. If you love the Tower and believe in what we do, please consider supporting us by donating, or visiting our online shop.
And while it won’t be possible to explore the Tower in November, here online we’ll still be doing our best to keep you entertained at home. Please do keep in touch with us right here on Facebook, and we look forward to seeing you again in person soon.”
Since the Tower of London is run by the Historic Royal Palaces charity, it won’t be the only landmark closing on Wednesday evening. Hampton Court Palace will also follow suit, whilst Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, and the Banqueting House are already closed – over in Northern Ireland, meanwhile, Hillsborough Castle remains closed but the castle gardens are open through the winter. Hey, we’ve survived without them once already this year, so let’s just hope they’ll be welcoming us back through the doors soon!