There was never and will never be a perfecter day to see the Tower of London in all its glory than the day we saw it! It was a truly gorgeous sunny day and I could see the tower walls glistening and the flowers blooming and the birds humming and it. was. perfect. We started off by seeing the Crown Jewels (i think you’re supposed to capitalize them? It seems fitting anyway.) and they did not disappoint. From the very beginning of the Crown Jewel exhibit it was so reverent and almost worshipful. Seeing the first part of the exhibit I could already tell the rest of it was going to be incredible – and it lived up to the expectations!!!! One of my favorite parts of the whole exhibit was seeing the short films about how the jewels ended up with the royals, and how the were moved around different crowns and setting and versions of themselves. I also loved the videos playing of the coronations in modern day and back in the 19 century. There was a background music playing throughout the whole exhibit which created this beautiful / serene environment. I could talk for days about it. The conveyer belt that showed us the Crown Jewels made me laugh because until I saw it, I really didn’t believe it was there. But it definitely was!! I could spend probably half the day in that exhibit alone, and a truly loved reading every single plaque and looking at every display, I feel like I learned so much about the history of the jewels and the royal family!!
Next up at Tower of London was Martin Tower, a quaint little display of what used to be the living quarters for the keeper of the Crown Jewels, and where the jewels were actually kept for a time. I wished we could go upstairs to see the actual living quarters, but it was blocked off. Im not sure why – but my entire life, anytime I’ve gone to a site like Versailles, old castles, historic homes, etc. I’ve always been most interested in the bedrooms. I like to think of the fact that these people really lived, each had their own complex lives just like mine, and had struggles and triumphs and joys, and most of them were probably celebrated quietly in the privacy of their own bedroom. They’ve always been fascinating to me. Im looking for forward to visiting some historic houses and seeing some more personal rooms than we were able to at Tower of London.
We also saw the tower where prisoners were kept, Beauchamp Tower, and read about some pretty famous people who lived and died there. The most popular being Anne Boleyn, who was imprisoned there after not bearing a male child to King Henry VIII, and was sentenced to death on the Tower Lawn shortly after. Though Anne is one of the most well known stories, I was so interested in seeing the plethora of carvings in the stone in this tower, done over years and years by prisoners writing their last sentiments. Some of these carvings are over 500 years old. There was glass covering the carvings so that they wouldn’t decay over time, so I found myself touching any original looking exposed wall that I could – something I often do when Im in a historical place. I like to know that I touched something that old, I guess!!! I think the most interesting person that was imprisoned was Lady Jane Grey, who sat on the throne for only 9 days before being replaced by Queen Mary I (Mary Tudor) Also known as “Bloody Mary”, interestingly enough! She was imprisoned by Queen Mary for her immense threat to her reign as queen, and was then executed on the tower green at only 17 years old. Through this mess she earned her spot as the shortest reigning queen in British history.
Lastly, we saw the Bloody Tower which was one of my favorite parts of the entire day. I can already tell that this will become a new obsession and that I will be reading many theories about what happened to the two princes. It was so eerie to be standing where the boys were last seen alive, and where they were potentially murdered by King Richard. The history is so rich at the Tower of London, and I truly think I could have easily spent an entire day there! 10/10 from me!!!!
Quickly have to mention that my heart is incredibly content after seeing Wicked last night. It was perfect + beautiful + lovely + stunning + incredible and truly that show never gets old. We had amazing seats and I cried immediately after hearing the downbeat of the very first song. Wow. No notes. Next please.
Thats all for today! Enjoy the pictures!!
- Jo
Theatre in London U of A 