The Ceremony of the Keys is, as another poster said, not a tour. At exactly 9.53pm, the Chief Yeoman Warder, dressed in Tudor Watchcoat, meets the military escort, made up of members of the Tower of London Guard. Together, the Chief Yeoman Warder and the Yeoman Warder 'Watchman' secure the main gates of the Tower. Upon their return down Water Lane, the party is halted by the sentry and challenged to identify themselves:
Sentry: "Who comes there?"
Chief Warder: "The keys."
Sentry: "Whose keys?"
Chief Warder: "Queen Elizabeth's keys." (identifying the keys as being those of the current British monarch)
Sentry: "Pass Queen Elizabeth's Keys. All's well."
Following this, the party makes its way through the Bloody Tower Archway into the fortress, where they halt at the bottom of the Broadwalk Steps. On the top of the Stairs, under the command of their officer, the Tower Guard present arms and the Chief Warder raises his hat, proclaiming:
Chief Warder: "God preserve Queen Elizabeth."
Sentry: "Amen!"
He then takes the keys to the Queen's House for safekeeping, while the Last Post is sounded.
The whole thing takes about 15 minutes. I last went 2 years ago, and there were close to 100 people there watching. Fortunately I was at the back and got to stand on a sandstone pillar so I saw pretty much everything, but I doubt the people in front of me saw much at all. If you have children, make sure they are at the front of the crowd or they won't see anything. Not that there is a whole lot to see.
Marching, stamping of feet, and shouting is about all there is to it.
