Peek inside the royal family’s timepieces as clocks go backwards

While Brits enjoy an extra hour in bed this weekend, royal staff have spent hours turning back the 1,500 timepieces inside Her Majesty’s official residences. 

The clock change, which falls on the last Sunday of October, means that at 2am yesterday the time in the UK went back to 1am as Greenwich Mean Time replaced British Summer Time.

Reminding Brits of the clock change, the Royal Family offered an insight into the numerous timepieces inside Windsor Castle, Berkshire, where Her Majesty is currently recovering after a stay in hospital, on their official Instagram page.

A team of horological conservators worked through the weekend to tweak the 400 timepieces on the estate, 250 of which are located inside the castle. 

Offering a glimpse into their many timepieces in Windsor Castle (an example is pictured right), the Royal Family shared a picture of their chief horologist with the caption: ‘For those living in the UK, don’t forget that clocks go back an hour tonight’

Offering a glimpse into their many timepieces, the Royal Family shared a picture of their chief horologist with the caption: ‘For those living in the UK, don’t forget that clocks go back an hour tonight. 

‘Did you know there are over 1,000 clocks within Her Majesty’s official residences?

‘Each timepiece is conserved by a special horologist and each will be set back an hour this Sunday.’ 

Sharing footage of the timepieces of Windsor Castle, the estate’s Horological Conservator explained that it’s far more time consuming to wind the clocks backwards in the winter than turning them forward in the summer. 

A team of horological conservators worked through the weekend to tweak the 400 timepieces on the estate, 250 of which are located inside the castle (pictured) 

The royal estates features musical, astronomical and miniature clocks including 600 at the Queen’s official London residence Buckingham Palace and 50 at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Scotland. Pictured, clocks located at Windsor Castle 

The Queen is currently recuperating at Windsor Castle (pictured) following tests and an overnight stay in hospital

‘We have 400 clocks on the estate of which 250 are inside the castle and the rest are distributed around the estate. I go round once a week to wind them up so I get to know every clock very well’, he said. 

‘Just like a car that needs an MOT every now and then a clock will need a service every couple of years, twice a year we have the clock change. 

‘In summer the clocks go forward and hour in winter they go backwards. When we set the clocks backwards in winter it’s a different process for every clock, in summer it’s much easier because every clock just goes forward one hour and each time it takes me about a weekend to set all the clocks to the right time.’  

The royal estates features musical, astronomical and miniature clocks including 600 at the Queen’s official London residence Buckingham Palace and 50 at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Scotland. 

The video offered an insight into Windsor Castle, the Queen’s royal residence in Berkshire, with footage of the estate’s Horological Conservator strolling through the hallway 

Sharing footage of the timepieces of Windsor Castle, the estate’s Horological Conservator (pictured L-R) explained that it’s far more time consuming to wind the clocks backwards in the winter than turning them forward in the summer

The tricky job of winding back the clocks takes an entire weekend. Pictured, the estate’s Horological Conservator winding back a clock

By moving the clocks forward in the summer every year, in a tradition marked with the Summer Time Act 1916, farmers and workers were given another hour of daylight to work.

Originally, this was to contribute towards the war effort, since there was more light in the evenings.  

Her Majesty is currently resting at Windsor Castle on advice of royal doctors after undergoing medical tests and spent a night at London ´s King Edward VII´s Hospital, her first such stay in in eight years. 

She has cancelled all working visits for the next two weeks but the Queen has continued to work since her hospital visit and will press on with desk-based duties.

Her Majesty, who used a walking stick for the first time during a royal visit this month (seen at Westminster Abbey), is currently recovering at Windsor Castle but is keen to make a speedy recovery in time for the holiday

During her rest period, she will miss attending the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, which commences on Sunday. However, she has recorded a message that will be relayed to attendees. 

She will also skip the Nov. 13 Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in London, an event meant to honour the British and Commonwealth men and women who have fought wars, disasters and pandemics to protect and defend the nation.

However, the palace said it is the queen´s ‘firm intention’ to be present for a Remembrance Sunday ceremony in central London on Nov. 14.

Since last appearing in public two weeks ago, the Queen has only carried out virtual engagements, with the latest coming yesterday when she virtually presented English poet David Constantine – who was at Buckingham Palace – with The Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry.