The Tower of London: History's Most Notorious Prison

now this is real history, not woke version of history.

What on earth is a menonjeray?

Simon: the Tower of London was the most notorious fortress prison in history...
The Bastille: Pardon?
The Lubyanka: Vot?
Colditz: Wass?

I used to think the Tower of London was the bridge with the 2 towers

This is where Prince Harry belongs

😯

That was second wife cut off her head

She had to kneel and they cut her head off 😯

Oh boy she wanted to marry her husband she died then she die nice 👍

London Alcatraz oh erase londoers 😯

🎶 Divorced, beheaded, and died. Divorced, beheaded, survived. I’m Henry VIII. I had six sorry wives. Some would say I ruined their lives 🎶

The Tower's Ravens also gave Electronic Warfare its mascot when Churchhill said EW was all wizardly like the ravens of the tower!

Did Julius Caesar not build a fort where the Tower of London is now? Or was that a myth perpetuated by Shakespeare?

Wonder what they did with all those heads...

They KNEW that cheating on the king was a death sentence and still did it. Wow. Talk about dumb. Zero sympathy...

Nice Star Wars references

I don't want to be that guy that says "well, actually" but that thing about the 3 lions is incorrect, we used to have a native species of lion called the Panthera Spelaea aka the Cave Lion, they used to inhabit all of continental Europe bar Finland, Sweden and Norway, southern parts of England, as north as Norfolk, all across Siberia, Alaska, and the western parts of Canada. That and the North American Cave Lion (Panthera Atrox) are the closest relatives to the Panthera Leo, which is the Lion we see today inhabiting places like Africa, the Middle East, and India (Though these days they have apparently diverged into 2 separate sub-species Panthera Leo Leo, (Northern Lion, inhabiting northern and western Africa) and Panthera Leo Melanochaita (Southern Lion, inhabiting southern and eastern Africa)). Source: wikipedia/wiki/Panthera_spelaea

Isn't Guy the inspiration of anonymous somehow? His mask?

The late lamented Bastille in Paris is, or should I say was, another dreary place.

To be fair richard II was a child at the time and it was his counselors his uncle John kf gaunt and the bishop who were at fault he didn't become a complete dickhead until he was a bit older

I went there in 2016, and it was so crazy to see something so old as a small-town American.

Interesting.

You never mentioned the Ravens!

Missing from your lists of prisons are the Bastille, Sing Sing, Rikers Island, Attica, Eastern State, Guantanamo Bay, Chateau d'If, Tuol Sleng, Hanoi Hilton, Folsom, San Quentin, Cannibal Island, and Wakefield.

"2020 the lantern tower"

The two princes probably wouldn’t have known each other and there’s a chance that they weren’t killed as Richard had a template for shipping the boys off in his own family.

Eleanor of Aquitaine was the first person imprisoned in the tower.

What? No mention of Thomas Blood?

Alcatraz wasn't really a bad prison.

Great video Simon, very informative.

Hey Simon, any bloopers of you saying “annals” in interesting ways?😂(like effortlessly😂)

Baalmoral is underrated.

Horrific...
Thank you for also mentioning the animals.

It was an armoury well into the 19th century too. Locks, barrels and stocks were made all over the country, they'd be sent to the Tower to be inspected then assembled.

Something wrong with this guy.

one of my ancestors was held in the tower for siding with the king during a civil war. He died in prison (not executed) and his son was reinstated with his father's titles and lands. It's a cool story from like 600 years ago that makes my family a little bit cooler.

1189 was the third, not the first crusade

It continues to astound me when I hear anyone with an English background speak of Richard "The Lion Heart" as if he was:
A) English. He was proudly French. He didn't speak English, and looked down upon the people and culture. King John, despite his massive shortcomings, did speak English if only to present the appearance of English-ness.
B) A good King. His only concern regarding England was in it being a source of tax revenue that enabled him to do whatever he wanted. Had he lived longer and taken the mantle, he had little intention to live there, rather he would likely have ruled from his seat of Normandy, only going to England at need.
C) Would have been a better alternative to John.

You never mentioned that it was the Royal Armory and the stored the Crown Jewels.

It was never built as a prison. It was a royal palace. It only later became a place to hold captives who might be ransomed.

Thank you

Mary and Jane were cousins not aunt and niece

vvdd

You know, after watching this, suddenly the tacit acceptance that ghosts wander the halls of the Tower makes some sense. I personally don't hold that belief, but then I've never really been there, nor have I felt a desire to visit it. The insight into its past is much appreciated.

I despise Simon Whistler. I always have hated men like him. Did I say men? I meant obedient little boys.

"If John was trying t ge hired at Walmart..." Hahahahhaha!