A Day in the Tower

But they let us out!!!
We picked a wild and wet day for our trip around the Tower of London, but every sniff, sneeze, runny nose and broken umbrella were worth it. What an amazing place. We started as we meant to continue - in the armoury restaurant having a bite of something and a cup of tea. We then met up with a very stern Yeoman for a guided tour, you wouldn't want to be arguing with them. First interesting site was the spot were King Henry VIII waited for the arrival of his beloved Anne Boleyn when she was to become his Queen, the next interesting site was Traitors Gate.  This gate is where prisoners accused of treason arrived at the tower and this is where Anne Boleyn made her final entrance to the Tower. And they call Somerset House "Hatch, Match and Dispatch"!!
There are way too many fascinating tales around the Tower to be able to do justice to them in this blog; so I'll just share a few of our favourite parts of the day.  The number one attraction has to be the Crown Jewels kept deep in the heart of Waterloo Barracks since 1967.  They left us both quite speechless, not only because of the beauty and opulence of the jewels, but also because of the historical significance woven around every gem. We did spend some time wondering which crown William will wear when he becomes King.  I had two personal favourites (only because I watch the Tudors starring the gorgeous Jonathon Rhys Meyers) King Henry VIIIs armour and  the Duke of Suffolks jousting lance.  Here is an interesting fact - the space suit invented by NASA was modelled from Henry's armour they even visited the Tower of London!

Another joint favourite was the Bloody Tower built in 1220 where Edward IV's two young sons were incarcerated and never seen again. The skeletons of two young boys were found in 1674 hidden under a staircase and in 1933 they were forensically examined and it was concluded the skeletons belonged to two young boys about the same age as when the princes' disappeared.