Vast, gloomy, and aloof from the bustling activity of the modern capital, the Tower of London has played a pivotal role in the history of England. Shortly after the battle of Hastings in 1066, William of Normandy erected the White Tower to consolidate his hold over his newly won island kingdom. Over the span of the next nine hundred years, successive English monarchs transformed the fortress into a royal residence, a state prison, a menagerie, a mint, and finally an armoury and a repository for the crown jewels.

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