Tower of London

I had Monday off work as I was supposed to still be on holiday down south. So I figured I would use my day for London tourist things and went to the Tower of London. It was a gorgeous day and apparently everyone else thought so. The place was full of tourists. :)

From the tower to the bridge.

Tower of London.

They have lots of animals sculptures around the grounds. In King Edward IV and Richard III era, there was a zoo on the grounds. The young Prices would have seen in from their rooms.

They have a very small area devoted to torture. Apparently despite what you see in films, there was very little torture in England compared to other countries. Though we did have the rack.

The rack.

Some of the many cannons. 

The white tower (armoury)

The white tower contains the armoury and a large display. Including the line of kings which has been there for a few centuries, a display of rumour and model horses.

They had a couple of King Henry VIIIs suits of armour, from when he was young and old. Apparently when he was older, he got rather ... excited about battle. While I was waiting, a little girl, about 5, asked her mom, "What is that thing between his legs?" Her mom pulled her away very quickly.

The bit I really wanted to see more of as where the 2 princes were kept. When Edward IV died unexpectedly early, his brother Richard took over until Edwards two young sons were old enough to rule. They were 12 and 9 at the time. He placed them under "protection" in the tower of London. He then instead declared them illegitimate and crowned himself King Richard III (and apparently spent a lot of time lusting after his niece Elizabeth of York). 

The boys disappeared. No one really knows but it is believed Richard had them killed. Though some hoped they just went into hiding and lived out their lives in peace. This was in the 16th century. A few centuries later, bones were discovered under the White Tower when they did some refurbishments. They have recently been identified as the bones of 2 boys, aged 9 and 12. :(

Unfortunately I knew most of this before I went there. (I love that period in history. There are some many plots and schemes. And Game of Thrones is basically based on it!) There was little information about. I guess they wanted you to pay extra for the audio guides. 

Monument to Henry VIIIs poor wives. 

I am glad I went even though it wasn't what I hoped. (The guide book is good.)

After I sat by the river with an iced coffee and enjoyed the sun. It has finally become summer. I have just got back from sitting in the park with a glass of wine, chatting with friends.