Saturday handmade&story. The Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London

If you are happy to be in London - visit The Tower of London, it must be visited!

The Tower is remembered as a prison , but it also has a more glorious past.
Originally it was a moated fort and the first stone building, the White Tower was built for William I(the Conqueror) and begun around 1078. Enlarged by later monarchs – including Henry VIII, who famously sent two of his wives to their deaths on Tower Green – it became home to the city arsenal, the Crown Jewels, a zoo and the Royal Mint.

The Tower has been a tourist attraction since the reign of Charles II (1660–85), when both the Crown Jewels and the collection of armor were first shown to the public. They remain powerful reminders of royal might and wealth.

Your guides in Tower will be nice "Beefeaters" in old-fashioned dresses. These people are guards of the Tower.

Theit official name is The Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London.

Yeoman Warders were originally part of the Yeoman of the Guard – the monarch’s personal, crack bodyguard who traveled with him everywhere.

These ‘Yeoman Warders wore splendid scarlett uniform, which today is known as the state dress uniformand is worn on state occasions such as the monarch’s birthday.

Their clothes is called simply - ceremonial dress, hat and knickers.

Today’s Yeoman Warders need to have at least 22 years’ military service. Beefeaters must be 40-55 years old when they apply for a jot in the Tower (on appointment)

Each new recruit (Yeoman Warder ) takes an oath of royal allegiance said to date back to 1337.

*Why are they have nicknames "Beefeaters"? *
Yeomen Warders at the Tower were paid part of their salary with beef and they were given meat even in hard times. They were the most loyal to kings and they were well-paid! . Beef salary took place right up until the 1800s.

Many London traditions, ceremonies and spectacular things are focused on royalty. Some of these ceremonies date back to the Middle Ages, when the ruling monarch had absolute power and had to be protected from opponents.

The Ceremony of The Keys

If you have time and strength to stay till evening - just do it! In the nightly
Ceremony of the Keys, a Yeoman Warder locks the gates. The outer gates of the fortress are locked for the night and the keys delivered to the monarch’s representative in the Tower.
‘Halt! Who comes there?’ These words echo down 700 years. They are part of the ancient Ceremony.

***Yeomen Warders working at the Tower of London, nowadays wear the blue undress uniform. It was granted to them by Queen Victoria in 1858.

P.S. The Ravens

Among Yeoman Warders there is The Ravenmaster, a person who looks after the birds.
London Legend says if ravens leave The Tower The kingdom will fall. So ravens are loved and cared in the Tower!

They even have special "raven diet", a diet of meat, biscuits and blood.
The ravens are fed twice a day by the Ravenmaster and dine on a special diet of mice, chicks, rats and assorted raw meats. As a special treat, they are given biscuits soaked in blood.