Royal Progress Day 2

Day 2 Westminster Abbey & the Tower of London Westminster, the nation’s parish church, has stood on this spot for over a thousand years and all the kings and queens of England have been crowned here except 1 since 1066. Intertwined with the nation’s history there are over 450 tombs here and all started by Edward the Confessor, his shrine built by Henry III stands in pride of place just behind the high alter and it was a rare privilege to be allowed to go up to the shrine and sit for a while and listen to a short service. Elizabeth I and Mary are buried here in the lady chapel and opposite lies Mary Queen of Scots, in a much grander tomb, she must be having the last chuckle on history I think. Many of our Sovereigns are here, Henry VII and his grandson Edward VI lie in the lady chapel. Anne of Cleves is very hard to find just some simple gold lettering on a wall at the side of the high alter. We travelled down to the Tower of London by river as Royalty would have done and saw traitors gate from water level as Elizabeth I her mother Anne Boleyn and countless others would have done. The Tower is in fact many towers around two concentric walls but the largest and most is the White tower that holds some great exhibitions of Henry VIII armour and weapons. Unfortunately we couldn’t go into the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincular as they were tuning the organ. Inside are the graves of Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Lady Jane grey all three queens of England and all three executed on tower green. The day was finished off with fish and chips in The George, and old coaching Inn known and the oldest galleried pub in London to be frequented by Shakespeare and Charles Dickens.