After landing in London after an eventful airport experience (shoutout 10:30 flight fam), our first excursion was visiting the Tower of London! Before visiting the Tower, I was aware that I held limited knowledge about its history and culture, but I was trying not to think about just how little I knew, mainly to avoid sounding incredibly stupid. Basically, all my history classes did absolutely nothing for me, so actually getting to immerse myself in the Tower’s history was insightful, to say the least.
The fact that the Tower of London has served as a royal palace, fortress, and prison is incredibly hard to wrap my mind around. What do you mean I was literally walking through history? How cool! Seeing the Crown Jewels, the Bloody Tower, and the White Tower consecutively proved just how significant the Tower of London truly is, and, again, just how little I knew about British history before visiting. It’s safe to say my eyes were opened, and crazy how quickly I was absorbing the information all around me. At the risk of sounding cliché, my favorite exhibit was the Crown Jewels, along with all of the many sceptres, orbs, and garments that were all a part of the Royal ceremonies. The imperial crown was just worn by the King at the State Opening of Parliament, no less than a week ago! I almost felt like I wasn’t qualified to stare at the crown, like I should give it some personal space after the legit king had just worn it.
Also, the fact that Anne Boleyn was imprisoned in the Tower in 1536 by her own husband is diabolical. Henry, you could’ve suggested marriage counseling instead of killing your wife because you thought Jane Seymour would give you a male heir. What a loser. #justiceforanne
Cheers for now,
Emmy
Theatre in London U of A 