Helenmoonstone_myblog: Her Majesty paying tribute to WWI's fallen at the Tower of London in a sea of poppies

2014年10月16日星期四

Her Majesty paying tribute to WWI's fallen at the Tower of London in a sea of poppies

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh inspected Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red at the Tower of London

Her Majesty looked sombre as she and Prince Philip, himself a former military man, toured the installation

Afterwards, the royal couple took part in a thanksgiving service at the Tower chapel, St Peter-ad-Vincula

The Chapel Royal is the burial place of queens Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard as well as St Thomas More

Royal salute: As the royal couple arrived, they were given a respectful salute by one of the Tower's traditional Beefeater guards

When the Queen and Duke first arrived at the imposing Tower of London they were met by its Constable, General the Lord Dannatt, the former head of the British Army, and Colonel Richard Harrold, Governor of the medieval fortress.

In an ancient ceremony they surrendered their ceremonial keys of office to the Queen and she symbolically touched the objects. Wearing a jade coat and dress with a mint trim by Stewart Parvin and a matching hat by Rachel Trevor-Morgan, the queen and the duke then walked carefully through the poppies before she touched a wreath laid on her behalf by Yeoman Warder Jim Duncan.

After viewing the poppies the Queen and her husband were driven in their official Bentley along the cobbles of Water Lane - past the famous Traitors' Gate - escorted by the resplendent Yeoman Body.

She arrived in The Broad Walk which was thronged by visitors - most of whom had no idea the Queen was due to visit. The royals were greeted by the Lieutenant of the Tower, the Bishop of London and Chaplain of the Tower before being escorted into the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula.

The chapel, which has recently been renovated, is the burial place of three English queens - Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard and Jane Grey - as well as Catholic saints Thomas More and Bishop John Fisher.

Busy: The visit is the Queen's first public appearance since returning from Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire last month

Beautiful: Following their tour of the poppy field, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visited St Peter-ad-Vincula

Burial place: The Tower chapel is the burial place of Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard and Jane Grey as well as Sir Thomas More

As a result, the chapel has become a place of pilgrimage for Catholics, with many visiting the grave of St Thomas More - Henry VIII's Catholic chancellor who was beheaded for refusing to recognise the fledgling Church of England which had Henry, rather than the Pope, as its head.

Although the Queen is the head of the modern version of Henry VIII's Church of England, she and the Duke of Edinburgh took part in a service to remember More and Bishop Fisher - another clergyman executed by Henry VIII for refusing to recognise the new church.

In addition to a renovation of the main crypt, which is used as an administrative space by the chapel choir, the Crypt of St Thomas More has been redecorated and re-ordered to render it more welcoming to visitors.

Next week will see the Queen welcome the President of Singapore and his wife to London, alongside the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who are expected to accompany Tony Tan and his wife for the traditional state procession.

Once at Horse Guard's Parade, Mr Tan and his wife will be formally welcomed to the UK by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh before a second procession returns them to Buckingham Palace ahead of a state dinner.

Fascinating: The Queen, who also led the D-Day 70th anniversary celebrations, has long been a supporter of British military charities

Magnificent: The Beefeater stood to attention as the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh wandered through the poppy field

THE ROYAL FORTRESS THAT LOOMS LARGE IN BRITISH HISTORY: INSIDE THE MIGHTY TOWER OF LONDON

A prison, a palace and a place of safety, the Tower has long loomed large over London, playing a crucial role in nearly every major upheaval to afflict the capital since it was begun by William the Conqueror in 1066 - months after his Normans defeated King Harold and the Anglo-Saxons.

The castle he built, the White Tower, was designed for defence but also functioned as a royal palace, with every subsequent Norman king processing from the Tower to their coronation.

That tradition persisted well into the 17th century, with Henry VIII, Edward I and Elizabeth I among the monarchs to spend a night there ahead of their coronations.

But it is as a place of execution and imprisonment that the Tower is more famous, with the very name of its Chapel - St Peter in Chains - offering a clue as to its use.

Although used as a prison from 1100 onwards, the first notable execution to take place at the Tower was that of William Wallace, a Scottish rebel whose death warrant was signed by Edward I 'The Hammer of the Scots'.

Wallace was by no means the only one. He was followed into death at the Tower by England's 'nine day queen' Jane Grey, Henry VIII's wives Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard and Queen Elizabeth I's former favourite, Robert Devereaux, among many others.

The Bloody Tower is also the scene of one of the most enduring mysteries in British history, with the Princes in the Tower confined to rooms in the building before disappearing - never to be seen again.

Precisely what happened to the two young boys has never been established, although many suspect that the children were murdered - either by their uncle Richard III or the incoming Tudor king, Henry VII.

But while the deaths that took place during the Tudor and mediaeval periods are the most famous, the tradition of executing criminals at the Tower continued into the 20th century with the last prisoners to die executed by firing squad on Tower Green during the First World War.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Tower is also thought to be haunted with the tragic ghost of Anne Boleyn said to appear each year, wandering around the White Tower and carrying her head under her arm, on the anniversary of her execution on the 19th May 1536.