May 26
Today we ventured and explored the Tower of London, a royal fortress that doubly served as a palace for the monarchy. We first went to view the crown jewels, which were interesting in that there weren’t very many jewels present. When King Charles was executed in 1649, all the crown jewels were broken up and melted down. Because of this, the collection present today is very underwhelming despite England’s long standing and deep history of monarchs. However, it was neat to see the current reigning Queen Elizabeth’s Crown, coronation outfit, orb, and scepter that she used during her crowning.
The exhibit that stood out the most to me was the Royal Beasts. The Tower of London’s Royal Menagerie was home to over sixty animal species and was where the reigning monarchs would house their exotic animals. A few of the animals that lived in the Tower were lions, polar bears, monkeys, zebras, and snakes. These animals were exchanged as regal gifts, but kept and treated in unfit manners. One animal in particular that stands out is an elephant sent by the King of France in 1255. The elephant died after a couple of years due to cramped conditions, and now a sculpture installation of the elephant stands today in the fortress.
Many people of all differing ranks were imprisoned at some point in the Tower of London. One in particular is Princess Elizabeth, who was imprisoned by her half-sister Mary I. Arriving at the Tower in March of 1554, Elizabeth was sent there due to Mary’s fear her sister was plotting against her. Elizabeth only stayed for a number of weeks, and was released on the anniversary of her mothers, Anne Boleyn’s, execution. While Elizabeth did not suffer much physical distress as she was held in her mothers former apartment, she was definitely under psychological stress and strain.
Theatre in London U of A 