William the Conqueror began building the White Tower with its 4.5m (15-foot) thick stone walls in 1078, to stamp his authority on the defeated English. Nearly 200 years later, Henry III made it into a major royal residence, adding palatial buildings and importing a menagerie that included lions and a wine-drinking elephant. Edward I completed the complex in 1285. Since 1485, this landmark has been guarded by the famous "Beefeaters".
The Tower's inhabitants illustrate the ebb and flow between different branches of royalty, factions of the court, and Protestants and Catholics. Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife, was beheaded on Tower Green in 1536. She is said still to walk the grounds with her head in her hands. The future Elizabeth I was imprisoned for two months in 1554 when she was thought to be conspiring against her Catholic half-sister, Mary. Walter Raleigh was kept captive here for 13 years in the 17th century. He, at least, was allowed to live in relative comfort, unlike the unfortunates who were tortured. As late as 1941, a German spy was executed at the Tower.
Among the highlights, you will see Raleigh's room, gruesome instruments of torture, an array of armor (the Tower had many workshops, as well as the Royal Mint until 1810) and the glittering crown jewels. The imperial crown alone has 2,868 diamonds.
The majesty of the Tower belies the bloody history of one of London's most popular tourist stops.
More information available at http://www.guidedtourlondon.com/toweroflondon.html More information about London, England at http://www.guidedtourlondon.com
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