Bloody Tales of the Tower

Built by William the Conqueror in the early 1070s-'80s and added to by monarchs who followed, the storied Tower of London holds a particularly grisly place in the history of England's capital city. In this documentary series, Tudor historian Suzannah Lipscomb and investigator Joe Crowley explore tales of the Tower's gory past. The pair looks at many of the criminals held within its walls and probes the gruesome executions of traitors on nearby Tower Hill, including the botched beheading of the Duke of Monmouth, who did not die until the fifth blow of the axe. They also probe the scandals surrounding some of the Tower's more well-known prisoners, particularly Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, ill-fated wives of Henry VIII. … MORE