Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity that looks after the Tower of London and Kensington Palace, has appointed Heather Thomas as its new business development executive.

The charity, which also looks after Hampton Court Palace, Banqueting House, and Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland, has experienced 15% year on year increase in total events over the last three years.

They have also had an approximately 20% increase in income, and are expanding the events team to support and further increase this growth.

Thomas has a background in unique and historic venues, having previously worked at Royal Museums Greenwich as event sales and business development officer.

In her new role, she will be responsible for delivering a proactive sales strategy for the commercial events business across the six palaces. She will market and promote functions and events across the Palaces portfolio.

Milan Thakrar, business development manager for commercial events at Historic Royal Palaces, said: “We are delighted to have Heather on board as we look to build on our fantastic achievements to date, and further consolidate Historic Royal Palaces’ reputation.

“Heather brings with her a wealth of experience in this sector, and we look forward to her valuable contribution to further grow the commercial events business in the years to come.”