Page 70 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

68  BRIT AIN AND IRELAND

s Tower of London

Soon after he became king in 1066, William the
Conqueror built a fortress here to guard the entrance
to London from the Thames Estuary. In 1097, the White
Tower, which today occupies the center of the complex,
was completed in stone; other fine buildings have been
added over the centuries. The Tower has served as a Beauchamp Tower
royal residence, armory, treasury, and most famously as Many high-ranking prisoners were held
a prison for enemies of the Crown. Some were tortured, here, often with their own servants.
and among those who met their death here were the The tower was built by Edward I
“Princes in the Tower,” the sons and heirs of Edward IV. around 1281.
Today, the Tower is a popular attraction, housing the
Crown Jewels and other fine exhibits. Thirty seven
Yeoman Warders, known as “Beefeaters,” guard the
complex and live here. Its most celebrated residents
are seven ravens. Legend claims that the kingdom
will fall if they desert the Tower.

Queen’s House
This Tudor building
is the sovereign’s
official residence
at the Tower.
KEY
1 Tower Green was the execution
site for aristocratic prisoners, away
from crowds on Tower Hill, where
many had to submit to public
execution. Seven people died here,
including two of Henry VIII’s six wives,
Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.
2 Two 13th-century curtain walls
protect the tower. Main entrance from Tower Hill
(Middle Tower)

The Crown Jewels
The world’s best-known collection of precious objects, now
displayed in a splendid exhibition room, includes the gorgeous
regalia of crowns, scepters, orbs, and swords used at coronations
and other state occasions. Most date from 1661, when Charles II The Sovereign’s
commissioned replacements for regalia destroyed by Parliament Ring (1831)
after the execution of Charles I. Only a few older pieces survived,
hidden by royalist clergymen until the Restoration. These
included Edward the Confessor’s sapphire ring, now The Sovereign’s Orb
incorporated into the Imperial State Crown. The crown was (1661), a hollow gold
made for Queen Victoria in 1837 and has been used at the sphere encrusted
coronation of every monarch since. with jewels

For hotels and restaurants see pp104–6 and pp107–9

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