Let's go check on the Crown Jewels (#23)

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Well, it seemed like a good day to go visit the Tower of London...it's been 26 years since we checked in on the Crown Jewels!  We wanted to make sure they are still taking good care of them!  We were feeling bit lazy this morning so opted for an UBER instead of the Tube.  London is so huge...it can really take a long time to get from one side to the other!

The timing was perfect, as when we entered the Tower grounds, it was time for one of the free Beefeater (technically they are called "Yeoman Waraders") tours.  These guys give great tours (we enjoyed one 26 years ago!) and "our" guy Barry was fantastic on this day.  These Beefeaters are all very funny and personable and describe the history of the tower in such an engaging way.  Oh my gosh...so many gory beheading stories!  At one point when he was telling about how Henry VIII welcomed Anne Boleyn here (only to have her executed 3 years later!), he grabbed my hand and I was his Anne Boleyn as he told the story...too bad Gary couldn't get his phone out fast enough to snap a photo.) These guys (and now they have 5 female Yeoman Warders!) are the ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London, charged with keeping the Crown Jewels safe.  They have been part of the history the tower since 1485!  In order to serve in this position, they must have served 22 years in the military and have reached a specific rank (which I forget now!)  Barry had been in the Royal Air Force for 33 years and was a violinist in their military orchestra.  He played frequently for Queen Elizabeth and actually got teary when talking about the greatest honor of his life which was doing 14 shifts guarding the Queen when she lay in state after her death.  It was so touching to see how deeply affected he was, and how much love and respect he had for her.

Kind of a windy day today.

I am happy to report that the Beefeater (Warder) Tour is as good as ever!
I'm also pleased to report that the ravens are still at the Tower!  Legend has it that as long as the ravens still live here, the Kingdom will never fall.  There are 6 regular resident ravens (& 2 spares) at all times.  Their wings are clipped so they never leave, so I guess Great Britain will always be safe! (I did read a funny thing about how with their clipped wings, the ravens  were having trouble mating so they have built special slides for the male ravens to use to get in position to do their part of the work!)


I even got Gary up on the ramparts to walk around!

This rope on the spiral staircase reminded us of the one in our rental last year in Dinan!

Just messing around with some old helmets they had sitting around...I think I like Gary's plaid cap better though!

Even the guards commented how it was amazing that it was so "un-crowded" at the Tower this day.  We literally walked right into to the Crown Jewels...no waiting in line at all. There were a few groups of school kids, but seriously light crowds other than that so it was so easy to wander around.

And of course we found tomato soup for G and a sausage roll for me!





Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 22, 2026 at 7:19 AM

    Shame no pics allowed of the jewels. I remember being astonished by their magnificence! How lucky for you it was so uncrowded.-lmk

    ReplyDelete

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