To start this blog, I would like to be upfront and honest, I’m an emotional person. On a normal week in the states I will cry around 4-5 times on average. Normally not for a genuinely sad reason, but because I feel my emotions so heavily (especially happy ones) that I just have to. Today, however, I cried so much it made me wonder if I would ever cry again, because I was so joyful. That may seem dramatic, but I am. The tears began at the Tower of London. I was curious and excited, but then I saw the crown worn by Queen Victoria in 1871.
It was tiny in comparison to the elaborate, heavy, uncomfortable looking crowns on display before it. The delicate frame of the crown in combination of the dazzling diamonds lining it made my eyes sparkle and for some reason made me sad. Then, I read the small description next to it that informed me it was a crown she requested to be made for her following the death of her husband King Arthur, so that she could still wear her widow’s cap underneath. That’s all I needed to read to, for some reason, have a tear fall out of my eye and onto my favorite blazer. I am typically not the type to cry at historical British artifacts (that’s wayyy more of a Dru Denny thing), or any historical artifacts in general. I have always felt appreciative and in awe, but not emotional. I mean, I didn’t know Queen Victoria, we were never close, so why did I find this tiny little widow’s crown so beautiful and tragic? I think it’s because not only is it gorgeous, but it held so much weight in the heart of the person that owned it.
Walking through the tower today I discovered that’s what made each artifact, each article of royal clothing, and each stone carving in the walls so moving. There isn’t a single thing in the Tower of London that doesn’t hold some kind of spiritual, emotional, or historical weight to it. The energy that buzzed throughout the walls of the tower was almost tangible, especially in the area where so many were imprisoned and in the chapel.
As a believer, walking into the chapel made me feel all the fuzzy feelings and I was in love with all the worship elements included. I also became fixated on the memorial stone carvings of multiple people on display. I thought that the memorials were so beautiful and impactful. Tombstones are one thing, but I can’t imagine the time and skill it took to create something so large in size and meaning. In every place that I went past this point I was again reminded of the inspiring intention that this community has put into preserving their history, dating hundreds of years back.
It feels wrong to pick a favorite part of the Tower, but the chapel was high up on the list. Another portion that I found myself surprised at loving, was the area of imprisonment. I was fascinated by the different facets of torture and consequences brought onto the naughty nancies of England. The one I found the most terrifying was one that I would imagined is easily overlooked. It wasn’t encased in glass with lights illuminating the enemies face next to a description of an evil threat followed by the tearing of limbs like many of the displays in the room. In all honesty, I almost walked on past it myself. I only noticed it because there was this bright light coming out of a small circle below a huge case full of the Crown’s enemies. I curiously tried to look through the hole and only saw something strange and curled up and brown, I was so confused. Then, I saw this very small wallet sized description that talked about a cell so small that the prisoner could not stand nor lie down, but rather had to crouch over in total darkness, suffocating and in constant pain until they were released. My favorite part, this cell known as “Little Ease” has an unknown location. Whether due to construction building around it or through deconstruction due to war, somehow along the way this torture chamber that perfectly suits my deepest physical fears was lost along the way. I can only wonder if anyone died there, was left there, or if it was walled up without question due to it’s incredibly small 4ft size. All I know is, once I realized what the tiny hole was (a type of door handle to open this miniature “Little Ease”), my heart sank when I saw that brown curly image I saw before was the gruesome shape of a person curled up and crunched by claustrophobic dimensions of what I believe is the most haunting torture tactic used in the Tower of London.
I didn’t get a photo of Little Ease because I was too stunned (I didn’t know we could take pictures yet and forgot to go back) but I did get a picture of some Ravens getting a different kind of naughty in the middle of the Tower, ghastly vulgar creatures there are, Ravens.
Along with scary tragic things, the famous person imprisoned here that I was most heartbroken by was one of the most famous: Queen Anne Boleyn. Her memorial statue pillow outside was mind boggling to see and the words etched below it were even more sad. Queen Anne Boleyn was Henry the VIII’s second wife. They wed in 1533 after he annulled his marriage to Queen Catherine of Aragon. She reigned for three years until between rumors of infidelity and the inability to bear him an heir King Henry became convinced that she had entrapped him in a “cursed” marriage. Soon after, she was charged with treason, adultery, and a very questionable incesstual relationship with her brother. (Ew) Queen Anne was found guilty and was beheaded on May 19th, 1536 in the Tower of London. Standing by her memorial in the same place her actual head was chopped off her neck, frankly freaked me out. What didn’t freak me out though, was watching Queen Anne Boleyn (portrayed by the magnificent Amanda Lindgren) sing “Don’t Lose Your Head” in the West End’s production of SIX. It was the most brilliant way to end a day full of British history, and it was where I uncontrollably sobbed the most. Happy tears, of course.
Dru and I are so relieved we weren’t alive when these helmets were a key member of the fashion scene at the Tower, too bulky for our taste.
Theatre in London U of A 