Photo: Historic Royal Palaces

A Yank in the Queen's Court
Behind-the-scenes at two of London's famous palaces
 by Janna Graber

I asked for an insider's look at life in a castle, but this is ridiculous! I'm on my hands and knees with three other gardeners, carefully pulling tiny weeds from a bed of flowers in front of Hampton Court Palace. There are more than 60 acres of royal gardens, and right now they seem to go on forever.

It's not easy running a 16th century palace, especially one as large and historically significant as Hampton Court. Just 30 minutes from London, Hampton Court was home to Britain's most famous kings and queens, including Henry the VIII.

The castle is cared for by Historic Royal Palaces and is a top tourist attraction. Although the non-profit charity takes its job as caretaker of British heritage seriously, the staff certainly has fun doing it. I asked for an inside scoop on running a palace, and now here I am, a Yank in the Queen's garden, trying to distinguish between weeds and blooms.

It takes 38 horticulturists to care for England's most visited garden. "Many aspects of the gardens are 500 years old," says Terry Gough, the gardens and estate manager working beside me. "We have to be sensitive to those features, as well as cope with the wear and tear of one million visitors a year."

Mercifully, Gough hands my hoe to another gardener (is that relief on his face?) and takes me off to view the Maze, a tricky arrangement of shrubbery planted for William of Orange in 1690.

While children love wandering through the Maze, I'm more interested in the Great Vine. At five feet wide and 234 years old, the plant is the largest vine in the world and produces grapes that are sold in palace shops.

Having seen the gardens, it's time to head inside. We enter through Base Court, a vast square of dark green grass surrounded by high brick walls. A mist covers the ground and the air smells of damp earth. The massive courtyard is purposefully intimidating, for the royals wanted their enemies to feel humbled. While the palace's first structures were built in 1236, they weren't transformed into today's behemoth until Henry VIII took charge in the 1550s. He created a palace that boasts 1,000 rooms.

Helen Smith is one of the conservation housekeepers in charge of caring for those rooms. To get a glimpse of how she and the other staff manage such a large task, I follow her down dark hallways to the King's State Apartments. The enormous rooms are filled with centuries-old furnishings and priceless works of art. With white-gloved hands, she cleans the ancient drapes, talking all the while of the kings who slept in this room and the care required to conserve such historical treasures.

"Dust is a huge issue," she says. In fact, the palace takes it so seriously that it has developed new techniques for monitoring dust levels.

But Helen's work is soon done and Hampton Court winds down another day. As visitors exit the castle, I'm filled with excitement. It's finally time for the ultimate castle experience-staying overnight. Landmark Trust rents two apartments to guests, and I'm staying in one of them. The furnishings are simple and tasteful; it's easy to forget that the 16th century is just around the corner.

What's it like to stay in a palace?

At night, it's eerily silent. From my window above Fish Court, I look over the courtyard and it becomes easy to conjure up images of life here hundreds of years ago. Especially after listening to the staff tell ghost stories for two hours after dinner.

The next morning, I take another step into the past at the Tower of London. With beginnings in the 11th century, it has been a palace, fortress, treasury and prison before becoming one of London's top tourist attractions.

The Tower is both gruesome and majestic, says Phil Wilson, a yeoman sergeant at the Tower. Wilson should know. As one of the Queen's elite caretakers, he has spent the past six years not only working in this fortress, but living here as well. Wilson and his wife, Ann, make their home in Beauchamp Tower. The only access to their apartment is a winding staircase, and I watch my step as we walk up.

The rooms are oddly shaped, making furniture arrangement difficult. Yet the layout is cozy. While Phil explains his work, Ann prepares tea and cake. A delicious aroma fills the room, and I forget that I'm inside a prison. Then I look out the window.

"That," says Phil, pointing to a distinctive square of dark brick, "is the scaffold site," which saw its fair share of executions. He happily tells some of the stories as we sit down for tea.

Many of those condemned to death had done nothing but fall out of favor with the royal family, he says. Others were sentenced for witchcraft, political activity, religious beliefs or adultery. But the Tower was no ordinary prison. "It was a fortress and royal palace," says Phil. "You had to be a person of high status to be held here."

"With such a terrible history, isn't it hard to live here?" I ask. Ann laughs and says that although she had some reservations at first, she enjoys it now. "It's a wonderful place to live," Phil booms, explaining the community-like feeling that pervades the Tower. "Some 35 yeoman warder families live here. It's like our own little village."

The only drawback to living at the Tower, the couple admits, is that they can't get pizza delivery. "The restaurants never believe it when I give my address," he explains.

When we finish our tea, Phil and I go exploring. We view the Crown Jewels, housed under the tightest security, then head to the Bloody Tower. The Tower runs a full program of tours and shows, and I spend hours watching them.

Many famous prisoners were held at the Tower, including William Wallace, the Scottish patriot who rebelled against English rule and whose life was depicted in the movie Braveheart. According to Phil, Wallace wasn't just executed, he was "hanged till nearly dead, his bowels torn out and burned, his head cut off and his body quartered."

Fortunately, that's not one of the Tower's shows. A reenactment of a 1671 crown jewel theft, however, brings giggles to a group of school children, who cheer as the "thief" is caught.

As darkness falls on the Tower, long shadows creep across the ancient walls. At seven minutes to 10 p.m., the chief warder appears for the ceremony of the keys. It's time to lock up for the night.

"Pass the Queen's keys," he commands. "All's well," comes the reply. Then, lifting his hat high, the chief yeoman warder cries out: "God preserve Queen Elizabeth!"

From what I've seen behind- the-scenes at London's palaces, I'm sure Queen Elizabeth's history will be as carefully preserved as that of the royals who came before her.

You can find Colorado native Janna Graber poking around behind-the-scenes wherever she travels.