May 26th, 2022
This morning we visited the Tower of London. While passing by it on the coach yesterday, the grounds did not seem as large in scale as they did today while walking around it. There were so many hidden staircases throughout each building – all of which were tightly spiraled with the stairs less than ideally spaced for people today. My favorite part of the grounds was going to see the crown jewels. This exhibit was extraordinary. The multimode exhibit captivated my attention, as I watched the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. As I made my way through this exhibit, I was continually getting more and more excited, as I knew the Queen’s crown was coming. The ending was definitely my favorite part, and as I wish I was exaggerating but sadly am not, I did indeed want to cry when I was looking at her crown. This piece was just so extravagant and magnificent that I wanted to look at it longer than what others would deem necessary.
Another part of the property that I ventured around was the imprisonment section. This exhibit, along with the other parts of the prison exhibits including torture defeinitely made my stomach ache a little, as it was all pretty disturbing. There were several famous individuals who have been imprisoned at the Tower of London. One of which was Lady Jane Grey. Grey was just a teenager when she ascended the throne for nine days. However, she was eventually overthrown by Mary and was sent to prison to one of the apartments in the Tower of London. While being found guilty of treason and was pardoned by Queen Mary, Grey was ultimately beheaded for her father’s involvement in a Protestant rebellion.
While there were gruesome actions that took place on this property, the Tower of London is by far one of the most interesting places I have toured. Its rich history and beauty are aspects of the property I will always remember. Honestly, one of my favorite parts of the property is the elevated walkways between the towers that face the river Thames. I spent several minutes here today just aweing over the views. The city is quite beautiful, and sometimes like today, I can’t help but stare.
Some other noteworthy highlights of my day after the Tower of London include going to see Frozen the musical, eating some tasty fish & chips, and walking through Covent Garden!
-Maggie Martin
Theatre in London U of A 