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Royal London
Many places in London are closely connected with the Crown. There are royal palaces, royal parks, roads and streets where beautiful ceremonies are held.
The Tower of London is the oldest and one of the most famous places in the city symbolizing the British Monarchy. The Tower was once a palace, a fortress, a prison and even a Zoo. Today it is known as a historical museum.
Nowadays the Tower of London is a place of great interest for millions of people. Tourists come there to visit the museum of Royal Armouries, the Fusilier museum and a new Jewel Tower where Crown Jewels are exhibited. Tourists can also speak with the guardians who wear special uniform which was assigned to them during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
The Mall, a wide avenue used for royal processions runs from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace through St. James's Park.
Henry's daughter, Elizabeth I (1533—1603) became the Queen in 1558. She never married and is remembered as a very popular and strong queen. She is known for saying "I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a King". During her reign England became very important in European politics, the Spanish Armada was defeated, arts and especially the theatre developed, and the country became very powerful.
The White Tower is the oldest part of it. It was built at the time of William the Conqueror as a dungeon to keep his family and people.
The Tower of London used to be a place where many famous people lived their last days before execution. Anne Boleyn was beheaded there and future Queen Elizabeth was kept in the prison but later she was released and became Queen.
The most important building is Buckingham Palace (the Palace), which is the official residence of Queen Elizabeth Il.
Regent's Park was also a hunting place and is now the home of London Zoo, and an open-air theatre which gives perfomances of Shakespeare's plays in summer.
Though nowadays the Queen reigns but does not rule, the Royal Family plays a very important role in the country. In the history of Britain there were certain Kings and Queens whose names are specially remembered in the country and are well-known in the whole world.
One of them was King Henry VIII (1491— Buckingham Palace 1547). Most people remember him only because he had six wives. But in fact he was a very important monarch. Under him Britain became independent of the Roman Catholic Church, it got richer and more powerful.
In 1534 Parliament named Henry head of the Church of England and gave the King all the power in the country.
Another strong queen was Queen Victoria (1819— 1901), whose monument you can see in front of Buckingham Palace. Queen Victoria came to the throne as a young woman in 1837 and reigned until her death in 1901. She ruled for the longest period in the English history, for 64 years! Victoria married a German, Prince Albert, but he died at the age of forty-two in 1861. That was a great tragedy for Queen Victoria. She left London and never lived in the city where she had been so happy with her husband and nine children (five sons and four daughters). But there are places in London that remind us of their love.
All together there are ten royal parks in and around London which are owned by the Crown. They are open to the public free of charge. Each park has its own character. Hyde Park, for example, used to be a hunting forest.
One of them is the Royal Albert Hall — a very large concert hall where the best musicians of the world perform classical music. In front of the Albert Hall there is a monument to Prince Albert built by Queen Victoria. Another place is the Victoria and Albert Museum (V & A) with its rich collections of paintings and other works of art. The family life of Queen Victoria touched people's hearts. But this is not the only reason why Queen Victoria became very popular. During her reign Britain became a rich industrial country with a developed trade, an empire with a lot of colonies.
