See bling in the bloody tower at the Tower of London

ENGLAND // If you manage to keep your head while gazing up at the formidable castle walls, you can see the spot where two of Henry Vill's wives lost theirs. Raised by William the Conqueror to enforce his rule over the unruly English, the Tower of London is not one castle but a succession of them, built on top of and in and out of each other. An astonishing number of pivotal events in English history took place inside its walls - Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned here, the princes Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury were bumped off by Uncle Richard in the Bloody Tower, even notorious gangsters the Kray Twins were temporary residents when the tower was used as a prison in the 1950s. Then there's the Royal Armoury, with King Henry Vill's (probably exaggerated) codpiece and the spectacular Crown Jewels.

 

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