Last Updated on February 25, 2022

Ready for the ultimate private tour of the Tower of London, Hampton Court and Kensington Palace, from the ultimate tour guide? Royal Historian Lucy Worsley takes you there, on PBS.

Lucy Worsley, Courtesy of Tom Hayward

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Read on for details about the PBS television program “Lucy Worsley’s Royal Palace Secrets,” the 2022 airdate, and to watch the trailer. 



As the camera follows her through stately corridors, up grand Georgian staircases, behind the closed doors of Tudor bedrooms and through beautiful Baroque gardens, Lucy unravels captivating tales of the private lives of favorite historic royals.

Each room and hidden treasure help unlock moments of triumph, tragedy and scandal, uncovering the dramatic events that changed the course of British history.

“Royal Palace Secrets” (2020) is the story of the power of the monarchy as seen in three unique buildings: from the Tower of London, a Norman symbol of oppressive terror, to the magnificent display of political Tudor power in Hampton Court, to the makings of a very modern Royal Family with Kensington Place.

Lucy Worsley, Courtesy of Tom Hayward

Each year, over two million visitors walk through the gates of the Tower of London to discover its glittering and grisly past. But for the first time ever, the iconic building is hauntingly empty because of the pandemic.

With exclusive access, Lucy invites viewers in and shares the Tower’s history, taking us back to the Norman conquest in 1066 to show how the Tower has gone from being William the Conqueror’s oppressive stronghold to Royal fortress, impenetrable prison and notorious place of execution.

Lucy’s next stop is the splendid Tudor wonder Hampton Court Palace. The spectacle and excess of this royal home encapsulate the fascinating story of the British monarchy’s thirst for absolute power.

It was here that Henry VIII would lay the foundations for his role as the supreme leader of both church and state.  And it was here that the Stuarts would build on Henry’s tyrannical legacy — until Charles I lost his head.

The final stop on this special tour is Kensington Palace. A hugely popular tourist attraction, it’s also the home of today’s younger Royals.

Without disturbing its current residents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their young children, Lucy gives a private look at this magnificent home that produced a different notion of monarchy — the Royal Family.

An encore presentation of “Lucy Worsley’s Royal Palace Secrets” airs on PBS March 7, 2022, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET.

Available to STREAM

The host of several popular PBS specials, including A VERY BRITISH ROMANCE WITH LUCY WORSLEY, 12 DAYS OF TUDOR CHRISTMAS, VICTORIA & ALBERT: THE WEDDING, TALES FROM THE ROYAL BEDCHAMBER and more, Lucy Worsley is a royal historian, TV host, chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces (the charity which looks after the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace and other historic places) and author of numerous books, including Queen Victoria: Twenty-Four Days that Changed Her Life, Jane Austen at Home, Eliza Rose, The Art of the English Murder and others.

If you enjoyed this post, wander over to The Period Films List. You’ll also want to see Lucy Worsley’s Royal Photo Album, Lucy Worsley’s Royal Myths & Secrets and our series of posts about the period dramas that have aired on PBS Masterpiece.