And Was Buried Along With Her Name...

Oh, hey raven. Fancy seeing you here...

We had an early start this morning. Our first big group adventure in the city was to the Tower of London. We went early to beat the crowds, which proved to be a good idea as lots of young school kids began showing up a few hours later. Because I had seen a good bit of the Tower with my mom last week, I was able to take my time and see some of the exhibits I’d missed last week. As it turns out, I really had skipped some exciting parts of the Tower last week. And some extremely tight and twisting staircases.

For example, the Bloody Tower was completely new to me today and, of course, taught me another story about royalty in Britain that I’ve probably heard in some class somewhere that I never paid attention to. It’s the story of the Little Princes, or, as they were sometimes called, the Princes in the Tower.

Do you know this story?

Edward V and his younger brother, Richard, Duke of York, were 12 and 10 years old when their father, King Edward IV, died. The two boys were trusted into their uncle’s care and sent to the Tower of London to prepare for Edward V’s coronation. Meanwhile, their uncle, Richard III, was at Parliament trying to prove that the boys were illegitimate. Parliament declared the sons illegitimate and declared Richard III king. And the boys were never seen again…

Naturally, there were many theories of what may have happened to the brothers, but no one could ever prove anything. All this went down in 1483. But the tale doesn’t end there. Fast forward to 1674, when workmen were rebuilding a staircase in the White Tower and discovered the remains of two young children around the ages of 10 and 12.

Of course, CSI: Tower of London couldn’t prove anything, what with it being the 1600s and all, but the bones were moved to Westminster Abbey so that they could have the resting places of kings.

I know I may have heard this story at some point in the past, as well as the stories of Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, and the like. But I think hearing those stories in history classes over the years, that’s all they really were: stories. Coming here, exploring these historic locations where these “stories” took place, has made these people come to life. I’m realizing these “characters” I’ve heard of for years really were living beings, walking and talking and, well, dying right here.

All that to say, today was a great day.

On another note… #FreesePlease! David Freese is going to the All Star game in Kansas City next week! Guess who’s excited?? Five Cardinals made it to the All Star team and will be playing for Tony LaRussa one last time. Go National League!