The short service of remembrance, known as The Ceremony of the Lilies and the Roses, is held every 21 May, to commemorate the fact that Henry VI, England’s so-called “saintly king”, died at the Tower of London in 1471.
Tradition has adopted the Norman Wakefield Tower as the location where the event took place. Begun in the 1220’s and jutting out onto Water Lane, itis a world…
She is more popularly known as the ‘Nine Days Queen’ though is also remembered for her untimely demise within the walls of the Tower of London.
Lady Jane Grey short-lived reign began on 10th July 1553 following the death of King Edward VI, who had personally named Lady…
She was born at a time when England was at the height of the Wars of the Roses and was the daughter of George, Duke of Clarence. Much of Margaret Pole’s early life was marred by tragedy including the death of her Uncle King Edward IV, the disappearance of the Princes in…
Archaeologists at Tower of London find ‘ritual protection’ to ward off evil
18th October 2015
The Tower of London is perhaps England’s best known and premier fortress and has been for almost a thousand years, but now evidence has been found that its inhabitants sometimes felt far from safe.
Recent research has been carried out by archaeologists from the Museum of London Archaeology in the residence of the Queen’s representative in The Queen’s House. Archaeologists have…
The mystery surrounding the fate of young brothers, Edward V of England and Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York is still one that stands today. Many believe that the boys were murdered and continue to haunt rooms in the Bloody Tower.
The Bloody Tower is also home to the…
Two weeks tomorrow will be the 31st October, more popularly known as Halloween or All Hallows Eve or All Saints Eve, everyone has a different name for it.
Anne Boleyn is said to haunt the Tower of London.
There are many popular traditions at Halloween; trick or treating…
Anne Boleyn is probably best remembered as the most controversial Queen in British history, which is perhaps not entirely deserved. Even though much is said about her, there are a lot things we don’t know, such as her birthday. Unfortunately for women of that time period, it was not uncommon for her birth date not to be recorded. Eric Ives settles on 1501 in his magnificent biography on…
Ghosts of wives and lovers, hauntings from scorned staff, frightful sounds, creaks and coughs. No, this is not a new film at the cinema or a book: These are the haunted Royal Residences.
Buckingham Palace
It is said that on the rear terrace of Buckingham Palace, a monk…
On 21st May 1471, 17 days after Tewkesbury, King Henry VI died in the Tower of London. On that same day King Edward IV returned to London in triumph. The White Queen showed us one version of this event, but it did not sit well with the source material available. The…
