Tower of London
Site View and Location
Tower of London
UK
Longitude: -0.076
Latitude: 51.5081
Historical Significance
The Tower of London is one of the most historically layered monuments in the world, serving as the physical location where more pivotal moments in English history occurred — coronation preparations, imprisonments, executions, and state decisions — than any other building in the country. It has housed the Crown Jewels since the 13th century, making it the oldest continuously operated treasury and jewel house in Europe, and the jewels themselves, including the Koh-i-Noor diamond and the Imperial State Crown, remain symbols of British royal power. As a fortress that was never successfully taken by assault, the Tower also represents the military confidence and administrative ambition of the medieval English monarchy.
Facts
Fact 1
The Princes in the Tower
In the summer of 1483, the 12-year-old King Edward V and his 9-year-old brother Richard were lodged in the Tower by their uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who then had himself crowned Richard III; the boys were never seen again, and the mystery of their fate — murder, natural death, or escape — has never been conclusively resolved.
Fact 2
The Royal Menagerie
From around 1210, when Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II sent Henry III three leopards, the Tower housed a Royal Menagerie that at various times contained lions, polar bears (which fished in the Thames on a leash), an elephant, and a grizzly bear; it remained open to the public until 1835, when the animals were transferred to the newly founded London Zoo.
Fact 3
Yeoman Warders and Ravens
According to a legend (first recorded in the Victorian era but now treated as official policy), at least six ravens must be kept at the Tower at all times, or the Tower and the kingdom will fall; the Ravenmaster is a designated Yeoman Warder responsible for their care, and the birds have their wings clipped to prevent escape.
Fact 4
The Crown Jewels
The Crown Jewels held at the Tower include over 23,578 gemstones; the Cullinan I diamond set in the Sovereign's Sceptre is the largest clear-cut diamond in the world at 530.2 carats, cut from the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond discovered in South Africa in 1905.
Fact 5
Colonel Blood's Audacious Theft
In 1671, an Irish adventurer named Thomas Blood disguised himself as a clergyman, befriended the Keeper of the Jewels, and nearly succeeded in stealing the Crown Jewels — flattening the Imperial State Crown with a mallet and stuffing the orb down his breeches — before being caught at the gate; King Charles II was reportedly so amused he pardoned Blood and awarded him a pension.
Fact 6
Execution Numbers
Contrary to popular imagination, relatively few executions took place inside the Tower — approximately 22 on Tower Green, reserved for high-status prisoners; the majority of executions associated with the Tower were carried out publicly on Tower Hill outside the walls, where an estimated 125 people were beheaded between 1388 and 1747.