Inside the Hidden Royal Apartment That Was the Queen Mother’s ‘Secret’ Retreat
Inside the Hidden Royal Apartment That Was the Queen Mother’s ‘Secret’ Retreat
Bailey BujnosekThu, November 5, 2026 at 2:30 PM UTC
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Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports from 1978 until 2002.
The honorary title came with a private apartment at Walmer Castle in Kent, hidden behind a secret door.
King Charles visited the castle in July 2025 and planted a tree in the Queen Mother’s garden.
While certain royal residences are well-known, others are kept private, serving as retreats from the chaos of public life. Country houses on hundreds of acres offer a welcome dose of privacy, as do international homes (like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s only recently confirmed Portugal pad). More difficult is carving out a secluded getaway in the middle of a castle—but Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother did just that.
For the Queen Mother, a seaside apartment hidden behind a secret door at Walmer Castle became a favorite escape from London’s hustle and bustle. Elizabeth gained rights to the apartment when she became Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, a role she held from 1978 until her death in 2002. The apartment’s entrance had been obscured with a “secret door” in the 1960s, per English Heritage, so that the castle could stay open to the public while the Lord Warden was staying there.
The Queen Mother after opening the new English Heritage garden at Walmer Castle. 1997.Credit: PA Images via Getty Images
In 2024, the long-unoccupied private apartment was opened to the public for the first time. Visitors could step past the hidden entrance and up a spiral staircase to view the rooms where the late Queen Mother had sat with her pet dogs. A museum of sorts, the preserved and maintained dwellings offer a rare behind-the-scenes look at the royal lodgings of decades gone by.
“‘I think visitors might be surprised by the simplicity of how modern Lord Wardens, including The Queen Mother, have lived in the Castle with their families and staff,” said Kathryn Bedford, English Heritage’s Curator at Walmer Castle, in the charity’s announcement of the apartment tours. “But I’m sure they will quickly appreciate the beauty and elegance of Walmer and see why it has become a favourite retreat for politicians, aristocracy and royalty.”
Here’s everything to know about the Queen Mother’s hidden royal apartment at Walmer Castle.
The private rooms were added to the castle in the 19th century.
The dining room at Walmer Castle, where the Queen Mother lived in the Lord Warden Apartment.Credit: English Heritage/Heritage Images/Getty Images
Walmer Castle originated in the 1540s, but it’s undergone its share of renovations and expansions over the years. In the 19th century, Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, added the private rooms where the Queen Mother would later stay. The rooms were first used by royal and aristocratic children and their attendants, according to English Heritage, the charity which maintains the property. Lord Warden Sir Robert Menzies turned them into a private apartment for the use of the titleholder in the 1960s.
Three of the apartment’s rooms were opened for tours.
Walmer Castle, the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.Credit: English Heritage/Heritage Images/Getty Images
Several rooms in the once-secret Lord Warden’s Apartment were unsealed and opened to the public in 2024. Visitors could view the sitting room, with its gold-framed oil paintings, chinoiserie lamps, and moody damask-patterned wallpaper; the white-walled dining room, where the Queen Mother entertained guests and which is still set with her silver and china, per Historic England; and the primary bedroom.
The Queen Mother would bring her own curtains to use while she stayed there.
The Dining Room table set for dinner, with the Queen Mother’s silver & china ware, at Walmer Castle.Credit: English Heritage/Heritage Images/Getty Images
In a bid to make the space her own, the Queen Mother reportedly brought “her own curtains to be put up for her visit,” English Heritage noted in their press release about the space’s re-opening.
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The drapes may have been just one part of the decorations and furnishings brought in tow for a visit. In William Shawcross’s 2009 book Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother: The Official Biography, he wrote about how every year Elizabeth’s staff would “load a van with furniture, silver, cutlery, glass, kitchen equipment, wine and food so that Walmer Castle, which lay empty for most of the year, was transformed into a miniature royal palace for the two days that she was there.”
Her personal chef, Michael Sealey, was among the staff who accompanied her to the Lord Warden’s Apartment, per Shawcross. Sealey would prepare meals for those who came to dine with the Queen Mother, including biographer Kenneth Rose and local dignitaries.
King Charles toured Walmer Castle in July 2025.
King Charles holds a spade as he plants a tree during his visit to Walmer Castle on July 10, 2025.Credit: Chris J Ratcliffe/POOL/AFP
In his first visit to Kent since his coronation, King Charles paid a visit to Walmer Castle and toured the former home of his grandmother the Queen Mother. His trip took place in July 2025, per the BBC. While there, the king planted a horse chestnut tree in the garden to commemorate his visit. According to the royal family’s official website, he also observed the restoration efforts underway by English Heritage to preserve Walmer Castle for future generations to enjoy.
Walmer Castle also has the Queen Mother’s Garden, made to commemorate her 95th birthday.
The Queen Mother’s Garden at Walmer Castle, Kent, circa 2000.Credit: English Heritage/Heritage Images/Getty Images
Reflecting the special place Walmer Castle held in the Queen Mother’s heart, the grounds contain a garden which was gifted to the longstanding Lord Warden upon her 95th birthday, per English Heritage. “I have been given many flowers before, but never a garden,” Elizabeth is said to have declared upon viewing the serene plot. It was designed by Penelope Hobhouse.
The Queen Mother (1900 - 2002) celebrates her 90th birthday in London, UK, 4th August 1990.Credit: Georges De Keerle/Getty Images
Between the roses, alliums, cardoons, and tulips, a row of topiaries border a rectangular pool, the ideal place for a tranquil moment of reflection. Another detail nodding to the Queen Mother is a sculpture of a royal corgi, in reference to her beloved dogs.
Previous occupants include Sir Winston Churchill and Henry V.
In the 18th century, the relevance of the position of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (the title which grants access to Walmer Castle and the secret apartments) diminished due to the creation of the Royal Navy, according to the International Churchill Society. Nevertheless, it remains as an honorary title. Past Lord Wardens include barons, earls, princes, and future kings.
Notably, Henry V (then Henry, Prince of Wales) was Lord Warden from 1409 to 1413, per a list maintained by the Dover Museum and republished by The Cinque Ports. He is immortalized as Prince Hal in Shakespeare’s history plays. Another high-profile Lord Warden prior to the Queen Mother was Sir Winston Churchill, who received the title in 1941 and held it until his death in 1965.
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