Thought executions no longer took place?

The Tower of London has served as royal palace, fortress, place of execution and torture, armoury, treasury, observatory and is still home to the Crown Jewels of the British Monarchy. The Tower's ancient walls echo with a thousand years of dramatic history. Way2GoGuides lets you witness an infamous execution, discover why it was home to elephants and tigers, eavesdrop on the Coronation ceremony and hear how stealing the Crown Jewels left one man well rewarded.

Download our free FastFacts to help you make the most of your visit to the Tower of London. Duration: 60:53

1 Way2Go Tower of London 2 Building the Tower 3 Prisoners and Executions 4 Revolting Peasants 5 Tourists and the Tower 6 Torture 7 The Crown Jewels 8 Stop Thief! 9 St Peter ad Vincula 10 Sir Walter Raleigh 11 Locking Up 12 The Tower of London Connections

SEE

Tower of London website

The Tower 1597
A picture showing the original gatehouses across the moat. FromOldBooks

The Rack
A man tortured at the Tower on the orders of Bloody Mary. University of Pennsylvania

A severed head?
Did James Duke of Monmouth really have his portrait painted after his beheading? This picture started the rumour. National Portrait Gallery

HEAR

Coronation Music ��" FREE mp3
The music that begins Chapter 7 is the anthem “I was Glad” by Sir Hubert Parry. It was composed for Edward VII’s Coronation in 1902 and has been sung at every Coronation since. An mp3 is available free on iTunes (iTunes required).

FREE Mozart mp3

The first music in Chapter 9 is the opening of the Requiem by Mozart. An mp3 is available free on iTunes (iTunes required).

READ

More gruesome stories
Tales from the Tower of London. Amazon

A letter by Henry VIII’s fifth wife
From Catherine Howard to a friend of Henry’s it was used as proof of an affair for which she was beheaded at the Tower. The National Archives

Yeoman Warders are not all men
A woman recently became a Beefeater. BBC

WATCH

Anne Boleyn’s beheading
Dramatised in Showtime’s TV series ‘The Tudors’ on YouTube. Buy the series on DVD from Amazon ��" the Tower makes quite a few appearances.

The Crown Jewels stolen
1970’s BBC comedy trio The Goodies uncover an unlikely thief. YouTube