Hi guys!
If you’re reading this you are either my professors, my mates (see what I did there?) or my family, so welcome to my first blog post from London!!
Today’s topic is the infamous Tower of London. The best attraction here, obviously, was the bedazzling Crown Jewels. My favorite non-jewel to look at would have to be the stunningly intricate Robe Royal or Supertunica. The glittering gold and tiny details made me wonder just how long it took to make that back then. The Supertunica is made of cloth of gold and included real gold clasps, leading to the robe weighing about 4.5 pounds. My other favorite non-jewel was Princess Alice’s coronation dress. Miss Alice had good taste even in today’s standards! We aren’t supposed to take photos in the exhibit, so I’ll attach ones from the internet below!
My favorite actual jewels would have to be The Crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. This is mostly due to the fact it is the most recognizable and iconic crown of the entirety of the Crown Jewels. It also helps that it is set with 2,800 diamonds(bloody hell!!!), including the 105 carat Koh-i-Noor diamond, which, the New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, essentially said they should return to India. Just a little fun fact.
Something I found interesting outside of the Crown Jewels were the ravens and what they symbolized. According to a British legend, (and Shawn, also a British Legend), the ravens inside of the Tower of London symbolize the good fortune and the safety of the Crown and the nation. If a raven ever leaves the Tower of London, the White Tower will fall, and with it will go the Crown and the nation. The ravens we saw actually had their wings clipped to keep them from escaping!
One of the most famous executions that took place in the Tower of London was the execution of Anne Boleyn. When I heard we had to write about an execution I immediately thought of her, as I’m sure a lot of people did. Anne Boleyn was the second wife of King Henry VIII and Queen of England from about 1533 to when she was eventually executed on May 19th, 1536. She was executed for supposed treason after her husband accused her of adultery and incest (which she definitely did not do, in my opinion, but you know, men ugh).
So that’s the Tower of London from my perspective! See you in the next blog!
Cheers, Mate!
Jill Qualls
Theatre in London U of A 