P.S. I love you: The Tower

Dum. Dum. Dummmm! The Tower of London is the most visited site in England. I tried to go when it wasn't crowded, but apparently children get a holiday every half term...sounds kind of nice, huh? I wouldn't know about things like holidays though, since I go to BYU. That said, it was pretty cool. I took lots of pictures of the armor and weapons for those who are interested in that kind of thing. If you were hoping for pictures of the crown jewels, I'm sorry, no cameras allowed. Suffice it to say that they were extremely sparkly and heavy looking. Except for Queen Victoria. She went from wearing the giant crown worn by the empress of a quarter of the world, to a little child sized one so that she could wear her mourning veil after her husband died. Grief and loss don't pass over the wealthy and powerful either. This was a lovely visit though, and I got to make friends with a nice family on a trip with the grandkids while we stood in line.

Sadly, this clip has a glitch, so there are two screens crammed into one, however, it is a rather fantastic Doctor Who scene that takes place at the Tower of London. Note the line about the ravens. I'll come back to that.

The Tower: 20 towers in all, 13 within the wall. The warder tested us...

The Bloody Tower. This is the same tower that the two young princes, 12 year old Edward V and his little brother, 9 year old Duke of York suspiciously disappeared from. This magically allowed their uncle Richard III to take the throne. In 1674 workmen found a box with the skeletons of two small boys. They were buried in Westminster Abbey, and though there is no proof that it is actually the young princes, I kind of hope it was so that they can have a proper peaceful burial.

Due to the Great fire of London in 1666, that building in the corner is supposedly the only timber-frame building from the Tudor era still in existence.

This building now houses the crown jewels.

The Yeoman Warder giving tour guides. To be a warder, you must serve in the army for 22 years, earn the rank of a Sergeant Major, and have a medal for good conduct (what he called 18 years of not getting caught). It is a great honor. Warders live in the Tower with their families. This also means that they and their families have the right to be buried in the Tower cemetery, and their family and descendants may be baptized and married in the Chapel Royal there on the right.

I most likely get my last name, Ward, because one of my ancestors was a warder here at the tower. Caedmon's Hymn, possibly the oldest Old English translation we have, includes this name. In Old English, Ward, or Weard, means guardian or protector. So naturally, I had to get a picture with this gentleman. I assure you, his tales were as colorful as they say. He also has a love of bad jokes, just like much of my friends and family.

The Tower Green. Yup, this is where they beheaded important people. (Only 6. The others were actually all beheaded on the hill outside).

The ravens need new batteries, they're looking a bit sluggish.

See, I told you I'd come back to that. Legend says that if the ravens ever leave the tower the tower will crumble into dust and the empire will fall apart. As a result one of the more superstitious kings made it a law that at least six birds are always kept at the tower. There are currently seven. They seem to be doing pretty well for themselves.

A lot of this armor belongs to Henry VIII (yeah, the one with the wives). He had a thing for sports. There are also some other kings scattered in there and a few replicas. To be honest, I can't remember whose is whose all the time.

Also definitely Henry VIII.

Henry's son Edward's child's armor.

This belonged to one of the Charles', hence it is covered in a lot of gold.

Please try to note the size of the sword in these next two pictures. I actually couldn't get back far enough to get the whole thing in the frame... Also, why is there baby armor beside it?