Inside the Tower of London

With no rehearsal time and weather turning against them, staff must work quickly for the event marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day with a marching band and a parade.

It's all hands on deck as, after months of hard work, nearly 30,000 stunning ceramic poppies are in place ready for a visit from Her Majesty Queen Camilla to commemorate the end of World War II.

A delivery of nearly 30,000 fragile ceramic poppies proves challenging. And at the Tower's pub The Keys, one of the most exclusive boozers in the UK, there's a new bar manager.

Chief Historian Tracy Borman uncovers a 400-year-old Tudor secret that could rewrite history, while Ravenmaster Barney Chandler cares for two new baby ravens at the Tower.

There's an impressive procession of 18 Tudor barges traveling along the Thames from Hampton Court to the Tower. And major building work is under way inside the famous White Tower.

Unpredictable weather proves a challenge as busy staff prep a gun salute a year after the King's coronation. Plus, the Tale of one of the most audacious prison escapes from the tower.

A 700-year-old tradition, The Constable's Dues at the Tower, features marines, boats, and a helicopter - but rehearsals don't go to plan. The Chief Curator uncovers Tudor-era graffiti.

A year on from the coronation of King Charles and it’s all change at the Tower as we meeting the new Chief Yeoman Warder and Yeoman Gaoler, and much loved Ravenmaster Chris steps down.

It's mid-summer at the Tower of London, and the Beefeaters are preparing to say goodbye to their Chief Yeoman Warder, Pete McGowran. There is still plenty for Pete to do in his last few days at the fortress, including paying a visit to Ravenmaster Chris Skaife to learn the name of the recently arrived baby raven

It's July 2023 and, after 14 years of loyal service, Pete McGowran has announced his retirement. He reflects on treasured memories, including when he gave Queen Elizabeth II a private tour of the Chapel. Over on the Tower's defensive wall, a crumbling turret on top of the Cradle Tower is in urgent need of repair

It's May 2023, the week after the coronation of King Charles III. Celebrations at the Tower are still in full swing, and highlight of the week is a spectacular concert, held at the Chapel of Saint Peter ad Vincula, where Handel's coronation anthems will be performed.

It's May 2023 and the Tower is preparing for the crowning of a new monarch. Among those featured is AJ, the first female Yeoman Warder to take part in a royal coronation. Plus, curator Charles Farris examines one of the most famous events in Tudor history - the coronation of Queen Anne Boleyn.

The Tower has recently mourned the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and proclaimed King Charles III. Having seen 42 monarchs come and go, the fortress needs to make some important changes to mark the new King's reign - the Yeoman Warder's uniforms need to be updated and the Queen's House, where the Constable lives, must now be changed to the King's house.

On Thursday 8 September, news arrives that would change the nation's history. The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is announced after 70 years on the throne. It's a time of deep sadness for the Tower staff and for the yeoman warders, some of whom have met the Queen in their role as royal bodyguards. As a royal palace, with special links to the Royal Household, the Tower enters a two-week official period of mourning.

Cameras focus on the events of June 2022, the start of the Platinum Jubilee weekend and the celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's 70 years on the throne. In the Tower's gift shop, sales assistant and royal superfan Allen Jones has been doing a roaring trade in Jubilee memorabilia. Meanwhile, senior official General the Lord Nicholas Houghton is preparing to retire. He reflects on his time living in such an extraordinary building.

Deputy governor Debbie Whittingham and yeoman gaoler Rob Fuller have spotted an impressive visitor berthed across the river from the Tower – it’s a Japanese warship, which is on a world tour and is stopping off in the capital. Meanwhile, Historic Royal Palaces chief curator Tracy Borman investigates the bridges that connect the Tower to the south side of the Thames, including London Bridge and Tower Bridge.

Historic Royal Palaces interpretation officer Emma Bell has a bold plan to transform the fortress into a spectacular winter wonderland, inspired by the Tower's famous menagerie. Chief curator Tracy Borman uncovers how a grumpy Henry VIII rejected his wife Catherine of Aragon's Christmas gifts, Beefeater Darren Hardy takes the Yeoman Warders carol-singing around their homes in the Casemates cottages, and the Tower community comes together for a special service in the Chapel Royal

Love is in the air as Yeoman Warder Matt Pryme prepares to marry his sweetheart Jo at the Tower of London. The whole community is getting ready for the big day. While Matt prepares the chapel, Canon Roger Hall chooses his most celebratory vestments

Today, the Tower of London is kept pristinely clean, but it has a dirty past. For centuries, all its rubbish was chucked into the River Thames, but, as chief curator Tracy Borman discovers, yesterday's trash is today's treasure. She joins a team of archaeologists on the foreshore for a once-in-a-decade survey, and makes some remarkable finds, from thousand-year-old pottery to ancient armour

It is June and staff at the Tower are bringing out the big guns to celebrate the anniversary of the Queen's coronation in 1953. A massive 62-gun salute is planned on the Wharf, but with his boss, the Chief Yeoman Warder, away, new Yeoman Gaoler Rob Fuller is in charge for the first time. Three 4,000lb guns and thousands of visitors to contend with mean the pressure's on Rob to get it right.

As the UK's lockdown relaxes in July, visitors finally return to the Tower as it reopens it gates to the public, and staff have to adjust to a new normal. The new one-way system is up and running, and new yeoman warders Barry Stringer and Darren Hardy have to get back up to speed with their historical facts.

The tower staff prepares to reopen to paying visitors after lockdown results in the longest closure in 75 years, beginning with a special ceremonial lowering of the drawbridge. The ravenmaster makes sure his birds are ready to interact with members of the public after months in isolation, while the chief curator oversees the launch of a gruesome new attraction commemorating the executions on Tower Hill.

As the country goes into lockdown in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, the Tower is forced to close its gates for the first time since the Second World War. As the weeks turn into months, cameras follow the small team of Yeoman Warders locked within the tower, keeping this great fortress running in isolation.

In February 2020, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall visit the Tower to celebrate the Yeoman Warders' anniversary, the first time Prince Charles has visited the Tower in over a decade. Meanwhile, the business of researching the Tower's history goes on for Chief Curator, Tracy Borman, as she digs into the tragic story of Henry VIII's fifth wife, Catherine Howard.

In this episode we follow the remarkable discovery of the first complete skeletons discovered by archaeologists at the Tower of London. Two skeletons, buried for centuries as visitors walked innocently over their graves. But who are they, and why were they buried right by the entrance to the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula?

In episode seven we follow the Tower's Deputy Governor Deborah Whittingham as she leads the preparations for the Constable's Dues. Meanwhile, Tracy Borman investigates the Duke of Wellington and discovers how he reinvented the Tower during his time as Constable. Wellington reformed the Yeoman Body and strengthened the Tower's military stronghold with the Waterloo Block.

In episode six, Tracy Borman goes on the hunt for the lost royal palace of Henry VIII. Tracy investigates the changes that Henry made at the Tower for Anne Boleyn, his second Queen. To discover what this lost palace would have been like, Tracy visits Henry's kitchens at Hampton Court Palace to find one of the last tantalising surviving fragments of Henry's great passion for Anne.

At the heart of this episode is one of the Tower of London's greatest tragedies — the story of teenage Queen Lady Jane Grey, who was executed at the Tower during the reign of Mary I. Join Historic Royal Palaces curators as they investigate Jane's imprisonment at the Tower, and explore ancient graffiti carved into the walls by her fellow prisoners a reminder of the once-powerful lives that were destroyed here.

Cameras follow Chris, the ancient structure's Raven Master, and General Nicholas Houghton, former Chief of Defence staff and current Constable of the Tower. Plus, a look at the original document which reveals how brutally Guy Fawkes was torture

Examining the execution of German spies captured in the two world wars. There's a profile of suffragette Leonora Cohen, who took aim at the crown jewels to publicize her cause. Plus, a look back to 2014, when the Tower hosted a display of nearly 900,000 ceramic poppies in the moat for Remembrance Day. And cameras follow Scott, a new recruit for the Beefeaters.

The Chief Curator reveals the history of Anne Boleyn.

The Beefeaters, the first 400 years and royal connections.

Inside The Tower of London Special. Actor Jason Watkins and historian Tracy Borman set out to answer one of British history's most enduring mysteries: who really betrayed Anne Boleyn?

Elizabeth I & Anne Boleyn - The Prisoner Queens. With help from actor Jason Watkins, historian Tracy Borman uncovers the mother-daughter relationship that was ignored for centuries.

Actor Jason Watkins and historian Tracy Borman explore the fascinating story of how the Tower grew into the impressive fortress complex we see today.

Actor Jason Watkins discovers family links to the Tower of London.