HobNob Tours
Exclusive Private Walking Tours

Have you ever wondered about England's Royal dynasties?  Do you want to get to grips with who's who in the royal family, past and present?  Well this is the tour for you!

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Your tour starts in St James' and after looking at some of the shops that have supplied the royals and the gentry with hats, shoes and goodness knows what else for well over three hundred years, you reach St James' Palace, the scene of many key royal events.  With a bit of careful planning, we can time your visit to coincide with that most ancient of ceremonies, the Changing of the Guard, assuming of course that it is scheduled for the day of your tour!  Once the pageantry is over, the next stop is Buckingham Palace, a royal residence occupied by the monarch since the days of Queen Victoria.  This is your chance to see the world famous balcony where royal celebrations are shared with the world.  We see the outside only of St James' and Buckingham Palaces.

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The tour moves on to Horse Guards which remains the official entrance to both palaces but to get there, we'll walk through St James' Park, the oldest and one of the most beautiful royal parks in London with its abundance of wild life on the ornamental lake. A combination of kings from Henry VIII to George IV have made it what it is today.

From Horse Guards, we walk across Hungerford bridge enjoying the spectacular views of the City of London, hearing how London is not just one city but two, before taking the over ground train from London Waterloo to Hampton Court. The journey takes about 36 minutes so plenty of time to fill in any gaps in your royal knowledge or maybe relax and give your brain a rest!  By the way, I haven't forgotten food!  You are welcome to have lunch whenever or wherever you please.  There's a lovely crypt about 5 minutes walk from Horse Guards which is a special place to eat (and quite quick - I will check if this is open on the day of your tour) or, if you prefer, we can buy sandwiches at Waterloo station to eat on the train, it's up to you entirely.  

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You really are spoilt for choice at Hampton Court because not only do you have Henry VIII's magnificent palace including his vast kitchens and Great Hall and William III's sumptuous apartments adorned with the best and most exquisite furnishings money could buy, but also, there are the Georgian apartments, Hampton Court's hidden secret!  If the six wives of Henry VIII are not enough to cope with, the Georgians, or Hanoverians as they were also known, were the most dysfunctional family you could ever hope to meet.  So between them all, you are in for a sensational visit to Hampton Court filled with drama, intrigue, passion and downright royal oddness! 

If we have the time, and you have the energy, we can explore some of the 60 acres of palace gardens and see if the tennis court is open to learn about that most ancient of games, real tennis.

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This will be a busy day but as ever, your comfort is my priority and I am happy to rest/eat/drink whenever you would like to do so.

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The meeting place for the Four Palaces walking tour is under the Colonnade of the Ritz Hotel, Piccadilly next to Green Park underground station.