Stories from The Tower of London
Back in September 2018, I got to meet Alan Kingshott and his wife Pat. Alan used to be the Chief Yeoman Warder of the Tower of London and Pat looked after the Crown Jewels. They both gave a series of talks about the Crown Jewels and life at the Tower of London. They lived at the Tower for over ten years. Both were very knowledgeable about the Tower’s history and were full of facts including…..
Unfortunately (or should that be “fortunately”?) they did not see any ghosts while there were there…..
The reason why Beefeaters have their name is because in the reign of Henry VIII, as part of the job, they were literally given Beef as a reward for their work.
Alan believes that when Prince Charles does become King, he may not be referred to as Prince “Charles” – he may take on another name because the history of the name Charles in terms of the monarchy hasn’t always been a good one as we know.….
Pat talked about a jewel in the collection that apparently was a cursed jewel from India. This is the Koh-i-Noor diamond. The history of this stone is a violent one because many of the early dynasties that owned the diamond were brief reigns, ending in war. It is believed that the curse only brings bad luck to any man who wears it. Therefore, since being given to Queen Victoria in 1849, the diamond has only been worn by female members of the British royal family.
Alan talked about when the bodies of those that had been executed were exhumed in the Tower’s Church of St Peter Ad Vincula in the 19th Century. When they found the body of Catherine Howard, apparently, they had great difficulty in identifying her. This was because when she was executed, a substance was thrown on her body to break it down – Henry VIII was so angry with her, he literally wanted her wiped off the face of the earth. When they were able to identify her, however, her remains were reburied under the altar area near those of Anne Boleyn. Unfortunately, there were many that could not be identified, and their remains were reburied in the Chapel’s crypt area, which also has a tomb for Thomas More. Not all of Thomas More’s remains are in this tomb – it’s believed that his head may have been buried in Canterbury.
On their Birthday every year, the Yeomen receive a bottle of Gin!
As you can see from this photo, Alan even let me try on his Yeoman outfit! The outfit felt quite heavy to wear and definitely weighed me down a bit!
