Visiting and witnessing London Tower was so miraculous that it needed its own entry.  As mentioned in a previous blog, the British are very superstitious.  London Tower, much like the London Eye, also has a few quarks about it as well.  There are, and always will be, six ravens at London Tower.  King Henry XIII was told that if and when the ravens left, the kingdom would fall.  To this day, there are still six ravens, with clipped wings so they cannot leave, as well as a seventh close by just in case.

London Tower in itself is amazing.  Going inside and touring all of the buildings and seeing the Crown Jewels was quite a sight.  The actual crown the queen wears is placed in a glass case for all to see, covered in diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires and pearls.  Many of the difference stones were given or passed on from other royalty members, such as a pair of pearl earring that were Princess Diana’s.

If something is not covered in jewels, it’s covered in gold.  There is a gold plated punch bowl that can hold up to 144 bottles of wine.  Guess how much that must weigh.  Half a ton.  So what’s the secret?  Everything is actually silver and just plated with gold because otherwise it would be too heavy to even hold itself.  There are guards in every room there to answer questions and make sure no photos are taken-there is a copyright on the Crown Jewels. Guests are able to walk throughout the all of the towers and along the top to look out over London, into what used to be dungeons or rooms for the royalty.

Fun fact: people still live there today.  It’s like its’ own little village with their own church, doctor and even their own pub.  Many are the tour guides and their families.  Not just anyone could be a tour guide.  You have to have served in the British military for a minimum of 22 years as well as have certain honors and a spotless background.  Guards will also be seen for there is still today an apartment for the queen if she chooses to stay in it.  Regardless of her presence, it is guarded 24 hours a day, every day.

Another fun fact that I personally found very interesting was the fact that there were many different kinds of animals that lived in the tower throughout the years, and I’m not talking about dogs or cats or horses.  I’m talking about lions, tigers, monkeys, elephants and even a polar bear.  Other royalty would give the king and queen exotic animals as gifts.  Unfortunately for the animals, they were kept in cages and often did not live long.  They had even killed people who came too close to them.

Many exciting things happened in the walls of the tower, such as a woman smuggling out her husband by dressing him as a woman just hours before he was supposed to be decapitated.  There were also many deaths in the tower walls, including five women, three of which were queens.

The London Tower is filled with history and mystery in the walls and is a place every person who visits London should see.