Some of the most powerful and intriguing figures in history have been imprisoned in the Tower
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Anne Boleyn
Date of imprisonment: 1536
The first queen of England ever to be executed, Anne was accused of treason against her husband Henry VIII. She was beheaded on Tower Green.
The Princes in the Tower
Date of imprisonment: 1483
12-year-old Edward V and his brother were brought to the Tower by their uncle. Just days later, Uncle Richard was declared king and it is widely believed he had the boys put to death.
Sir Walter Raleigh
Dates of imprisonment: 1592-93, 1603-16, 1618
Walter lived in the Bloody Tower with his entire family and spent his imprisonment growing tobacco and writing a history of the world. Some say that his ghost still walks the Tower walls.
Lady Jane Grey
Dates of imprisonment: 1553-54
Protestant Jane inherited the throne from her cousin Edward VI but lost it to her Catholic rival Mary I. A year later, Jane was beheaded within the Tower.
Rudolf Hess
Dates of imprisonment: 1941
Hitler’s deputy parachuted into Britain in 1941, hoping to end the war. He was imprisoned at the Tower for a few days, the last state prisoner kept there.
Originally published in All About History 40
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