Tower of London

Today we visited the famous Tower of London. I did not know much about the Tower of London prior to today, but the visit definitely exceeded my expectations. One of the reasons I was so impressed was because of the incredible knowledge of our “tour guide,” an English Yeoman Warder. Their official name is actually the Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary – not an easy name to remember! They are popularly known as the Beefeaters, and act as ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London. In principle they are responsible for looking after any prisoners at the Tower and safeguarding the British crown jewels, but in practice they act as tour guides and are a tourist attraction in their own right, a point the Yeoman Warders acknowledge. All of the Yeoman Warders have served in the British military for at least 22 years, and receiving this title is one of the highest honors in Britain.

Our tour guide told us stories of murder, greed, and corruption – an interesting and real history of the London Tower. The story that stuck out to me the most was about King Richard III of England during the siege of Gloucester in the English Civil War, according to Shakespeare’s play. The infamously hunchbacked King Richard III used to sit on a wall in the London Tower. After the war he was stripped of his power and executed. His arms and legs were scattered to the four corners of the battlefield. Since commoners were illiterate at the time, they would tell stories to their children so that they could learn history. Here is how this story went: “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, humpty dumpty had a great fall. All the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again.”

We also saw the world famous crown jewels, which were so astounding I don’t know how to describe them to people who have not seen them in person.