Tower of London

Beefeaters - London Yeoman Warders

King Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, and Edward I

Tower of London - No.1 thing to do in London

The Tower of London. Now a great historic wonder, the Tower of London was a place of great misery, torture, beheading and considerable inconsiderate behaviour. "Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress" (the Tower's more formal name) is located on the north bank of the River Thames, just east of the City of London. This historic castle first came into being in after William the Conqueror's victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. From quite early in it's beginnings, the Tower was used as a prison but it's principal purpose was to provide a residence for Royalty and, for a few unfortunate royals, it could be both.

King Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, and Edward I

The Tower of London today is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. King Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, and Edward I all combined to give the Tower it's current form despite more recent changes and modifications. As you might imagine, there's a lot of history contained within its numerous walls, and the Tower has much to tell us about power, politics, greed and ambition.

Don't be fooled by the picture that starts this video, it is about the Tower of London - not Tower Bridge.

The White Tower

The White Tower perhaps should have been called the Red Tower, for it was here that much of the unfriendliness took place. For many, the White Tower is the Tower of London. Its function was to scare people into submission and to make any would-be invader to think twice about a little boat trip up the Thames.

The White Tower isn't all nasty. It also has some expansive historical artifacts such as Henry VIII's armour and the beautiful 11th-century Chapel of St John the Evangelist.

The last prisoners of the Tower of London - The Ravens

Ravens are still held in Tower through fear their release will make the Tower crumble into the London traffic.

Beefeaters

You can tour the Tower of London with the jolly Yeoman Warders or Beefeaters. The large ones look a little Santa Claus in uniform. The Beefeaters are actually retired ex-service men so watch your step. Entertaining and informative and, at a stretch, they may even have a good rack joke to tell you. The tours can be engaging and funny and hey, its all history now, water under the traitors gate.

Crown Jewels

The not to-be photographed (so we can sell you postcards) Crown Jewels are worth a quick look as you wiz past on your travelator. Are they real or just fake? Who really knows. Just don't lose your head trying to find out. Whatever the kindly Beefeater says, they have to be fake. Would you keep your best sparkles on public display?

Audio Tour

Void the avoidable audio tour as it contains much of the information contained in plaques posted about the Tower.

For More Info visit this great website:

http://www.camelotintl.com/tower_site/index.html

Made with the help of the Beefeaters no less.

Tower Bridge

If you have any energy left after a visit to the Tower, you should check out another fabulous tower, perhaps London's most popular, Tower Bridge.