Tower Of London
The palaces that Historic Royal Palaces are responsible for are all owned by The Queen “in right of Crown”.  This means that Her Majesty holds the palaces in Trust for the next monarch and by law cannot sell, lease or otherwise dispose of any interest in the palaces.All of the palaces ceased being used regularly for royal court purposes in the 18th century and the Government became responsible for their management, an arrangement codified in the Crown Lands Act 1851. Currently government responsibility rests with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport.The palaces were first opened to the public in the 19th century, although the Tower of London was open to selected visitors much earlier.Historic Royal Palaces was established in 1989 as an Executive Agency of Government within the Department of the Environment, and the five palaces were brought together and run by this one agency. Later Historic Royal Palaces was transferred to the Department of National Heritage on its establishment in 1995, now named the Department for Culture, Media & Sport . Historic Royal Palaces has a contract with the Secretary of State to manage the palaces.