Tag: Royal Collection Trust

Palace of Holyroodhouse launches gin infused with herbs from its historical royal Physic Garden 

A dry gin infused with botanicals grown in the Physic Garden at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Scottish seat of the Royal Family, is now available online and from all shops managed by the Royal Collection Trust, a department of the Royal Household. 

The Palace of Holyroodhouse Dry Gin is infused with mint and lemon thyme hand-picked from the Physic Garden for their vibrant flavour. Inspired by the garden’s history of cultivating medicinal and culinary herbs, the botanicals – which are steeped for 24 hours before the distilling process begins – combine with juniper to create a delicately fragrant gin with a complex citrus top note.

The gin pairs beautifully with mediterranean or elderflower tonics to further enhance the refreshing flavours of the herbs. Garnished with fresh mint leaves and a sprig of thyme, it makes an elegant aperitif.

The Physic Garden was opened adjacent to the Palace in 2020 to recreate the earliest known gardens on the site, and can be freely enjoyed year-round by the people of Edinburgh and visitors to the Palace.

Founded in the grounds of the Palace in 1670 by two Scottish physicians, Sir Robert Sibbald and Sir Andrew Balfour, the original garden provided fresh ingredients for pharmacists and allowed students to learn the medicinal properties of plants. It was the first garden of its kind in Scotland and was the forerunner of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Today, visitors to the Physic Garden will see plants such as fennel, lavender, and lemon balm growing. Alongside, a meadow of wildflowers with healing properties evokes the 15th-century monastic gardens of Holyrood Abbey, while 17th-century royal gardens have been reimagined through geometric springtime displays of bulbs including crocuses, tulips, and alliums.  

In a further nod to its historical surroundings, the floral bottle design of the Palace of Holyroodhouse Dry Gin is inspired by the 17th-century Scottish textiles seen on the bed in Mary, Queen of Scots’ Bedchamber inside the Palace. With interlacing leaves, vines, and flowers, the stylised foliage is typical of Jacobean crewelwork, a fashionable type of embroidery from the time.

All profits from sales of the gin go towards the care of, and access to, the Royal Collection through the public opening of the Royal Residences, exhibitions, loans, and educational programmes managed by Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity.

The Palace of Holyroodhouse Dry Gin, 40% abv, can now be purchased from the Royal Collection Trust shops in Edinburgh, London, and Windsor, and from the online shop for £40.00 for a 70cl bottle.

Changing the clocks at the official residences of His Majesty The King

This weekend, Royal Collection Trust staff will spend over 30 hours changing clocks across the official residences of His Majesty The King as British Summer Time comes to an end.

A busy team of three Horological Conservators will work through the weekend to adjust the clocks at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

The Royal Collection contains some of the finest historic clocks in existence, many of which are on display to visitors at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

They include musical clocks, astronomical clocks, miniature clocks and turret clocks, and each must be carefully changed by hand to ensure that the times shown remain accurate for visitors, staff and residents.

Tjeerd Bakker, Senior Horological Conservator, said, ‘Clockmakers have been employed by the Royal Household for centuries, and it is a privilege to continue that tradition and to get to work with this extraordinary collection every day.

“Visitors love the fact that the clocks are kept running and on time; they are a key part of the experience of visiting the State Apartments at these working royal residences.’ 

Clocks in the Royal Collection – facts and figures

  • There are over 1600 timepieces in the Royal Collection, including 450 at Windsor Castle, 350 at the London residences of His Majesty The King and 50 at the Palace of Holyroodhouse that will need to be changed this weekend.
  • In wintertime, it takes Windsor Castle’s Horological Conservator over 18 hours to change the clocks there, while at Buckingham Palace and St James’s Palace it takes a team of two a combined 16 hours.
  • It takes longer to change the clocks in wintertime as not all clocks can have their hands rotated counterclockwise; the best practice for these clocks is to stop them and return an hour later to start them again.
  • The clocks in the kitchens at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace are always set five minutes fast, to ensure that food arrives on time.
  • The oldest clock in the Royal Collection is the Anne Boleyn Clock, which is reputed to have been given by Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn on the morning of their marriage in 1532.
  • The smallest clocks in the Collection are the tiny clocks in Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, which is on display to visitors at Windsor Castle. Made by Cartier, they measure just centimetres high and have working mechanical movements, but as they would need to be wound daily, they are kept static to prevent unnecessary wear and tear.
  • The largest clock in the Collection is the Quadrangle clock at Windsor Castle, which was built by Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy in 1829 and installed during George IV’s extensive restoration of the Castle. The clock face has a diameter of 2.14m.
  • One of the most important timepieces in the Collection is known as Queen Charlotte’s watch. This unique pocket watch was the first to have a lever escapement and as such is the forerunner of almost all modern wrist and pocket watches.
  • One of the most complex clocks is an 18th-century astronomical clock purchased by George III. The clock has dials on all four sides and is able to show time, strike the phase of the moon, the day and the date, and can show high and low tide in 32 ports around the world.