Ceremonies known as the Ceremony of the Keys are held in at least three locations in the United Kingdom: London, Gibraltar, and Edinburgh.

London

Probably the best known such ceremony is the one that takes place every night at the Tower of London, and has done so in some form or another since the 14th century. Just before 10pm, the Chief Warder, dressed in Tudor period uniform, meets the Escort of the Key, four Yeomen Warders in Beefeater uniforms. Together, they secure the main gates of the Tower. Upon their return to the Bloody Tower archway, the party is halted by the sentry and challenged to identify themselves:

Sentry: Who goes there?

Chief Warder: The keys.

S: Whose keys?

CW: Queen Elizabeth's keys. (identifying the keys as being those of the British monarch as of 2005)

S: Pass Queen Elizabeth's Keys. All's well.

Following this, the party makes its way into the fortress, where the guard presents arms, and the Chief Warder raises his hat, proclaiming:

CW: God preserve Queen Elizabeth.

He then takes the keys in for safekeeping, while the Last Post is sounded.

Gibraltar

The Ceremony of the Keys in Gibraltar has its origins in ceremonies instituted after the Great Siege of Gibraltar, which started in 1779. The ceremony was reinstituted in 1933 and is currently performed twice a year (in April and October) by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and resident British Battalions.

In the modern version of the ceremony, at the firing of the sunset gun, the Governor of Gibraltar symbolically hands the keys of the fortress to the Port Sergeant . The Port Sergeant, accompanied by an armed escort, proceeds to lock the (now nonexistent) gates of the fortress for the night before symbolically returning the keys to the Governor. The party is also accompanied by drums and fifes, to sound a warning for aliens to leave the colony before the gates are closed.

Edinburgh

There is also a Ceremony of the Keys held in Holyrood Palace, at the start of the British monarch's week-long residence there in July. Soon after the monarch's arrival, in the forecourt of the Palace, the Queen or King is symbolically offered the keys to the city of Edinburgh by the Lord Provost. The monarch returns the keys, saying:

I return these keys, being perfectly convinced that they cannot be placed in better hands than those of the Lord Provost and Councillors of my good City of Edinburgh.

External links

• Order of the Ceremony of The Keys (London), a personal website describing the ceremony (with photos)
• Requests for tickets to the Ceremony of the Keys (London), from the website of the Historic Royal Palaces
• Ceremony of The Keys (Edinburgh), from the official website of the British monarchy
• Gibraltar Photo Journal, including a description of the present form of the ceremony, from the Pilot Guides website