The Guardians of the Tower:
For hundreds of years, ravens have resided in the Tower of London.
It is said that if the ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it.

Also known as Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, the Tower of London has stood guard over the great city for centuries. As it played host to some of England's most important events, there is a real sense of history in this World Heritage Site. Built by William the Conqueror around 1080, the Tower has served, among others, as a royal residence, a fortress and a prison. Its reputation as place of imprisonment has even led to usage of the term sent to the tower. Famous prisoners include Queen Elizabeth I and King Henry VIII. Two of Henry's wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, were beheaded after being imprisoned in the Tower. We spent an afternoon exploring this fascinating, thousand year old castle where death, treachery and intrigue abound.

The Tower of London is a vast complex of structures and towers surrounding a courtyard. The oldest structure, the White Tower is the Keep, which is supposed to be the strongest and the most secure part of the castle. Each of the twenty-one towers in the complex has its own history, as they were built at different times and for varying purposes. I would have liked to know all the stories they had to tell but since we only had an afternoon, I focused on the most interesting ones.

The Bloody Tower, which lived up to its grisly name, tells of the tragic tale of two little princes, Edward V and his brother Richard. Before the coronation of Edward could take place, the two princes were imprisoned in the Tower by their uncle Richard, the Duke of Gloucester. Subsequently, the two princes disappeared and were never seen again. Two skeletons were eventually found under the stairs of the White Tower and were presumed to be that of the two little princes. They were believed to have been murdered on the orders of their uncle who afterwards became King Richard III.

The Tower of London is also associated with the ill-fated Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII. Anne spent the night at the Tower before she was crowned as Queen of England. Three years later, she was charged with treason, adultery and incest and was thus imprisoned in the Tower. In an ironic twist of fate, she spent her final days in the same royal apartments where she stayed the night before her coronation. After having been found guilty of the charges, she was beheaded at the Tower Green. She was the first English Queen to have been publicly executed.

*

In the lower right photo above, you can see the Royal Chapel of St. Peter Ad Vincula where Anne Boleyn's body is buried and in front of it is the memorial monument for all those who were executed at the Tower.

Symbols of the British Monarchy: The Crown Jewels *

Despite the warm summer day, I could not help but shudder after hearing all about the Tower's bloody and violent past. Due to the number of tortures and executions that took place within its walls, the Tower of London is considered as one of the most haunted places in England. With tales of gruesome deaths and suspicious disappearances, dark secrets seemed to lurk at every shadowy corner. Stories of eerie hauntings have run rampant, including that of Anne Boleyn (hers is a wandering ghost seen all over England). The headless ghost of Anne has been spotted from the corridors of the White Tower, to the spot where she died and the chapel where she is buried. One sentry described the apparition: "It was the figure of a woman wearing a queer-looking bonnet, but there wasn't no head inside the bonnet." Spooky!

The most haunted castle in England?

On a lighter note, there are also gift shops for souvenirs located inside the Tower of London, such as the Jewel House Shop and the Beefeater Shop. The Tower Shop, which is the flagship shop, can be found outside, right in front of the main gate of the Tower. For more information about the Tower of London's opening hours and admission prices, check out their official site: http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/.