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00:01The Tower of London, a world-famous historic monument.
00:06There will be stories about murders!
00:09Over its thousand years of history,
00:12everyone who's anyone has passed through its gates.
00:15King Richard III.
00:17Captain Howard.
00:18King Henry VIII declared.
00:19My darling Anne, I will love you for the rest of your life.
00:25Cheeky.
00:27And this year, it's non-stop.
00:30Oh! Oh!
00:31With grand commemorations.
00:33Jumping, Jiminy!
00:35At the ancient fortress, including a royal visit.
00:39I truly think that Her Majesty will be moved.
00:41We've got a ringside seat to see it all unfold.
00:44Oh, my gosh.
00:45While its dedicated staff...
00:47High five!
00:48Yeah!
00:49...work to keep everything on track.
00:51You know this is the queue for the toilet, don't you?
00:53No, I'm not feeding you any more. No.
00:55In this episode, there's a new deputy governor in town.
01:01But how will she cope with her first major event?
01:04Actually, I'm quite nervous.
01:06I've been warned about the boots.
01:08They're quite slippy.
01:10The fortress welcomes back its famous poppies
01:13for an ambitious new installation.
01:16The tower has stood for a thousand years.
01:18We can't be the ones who cause any damage to it.
01:20And the archaeology team begin the most important excavation
01:24in a generation.
01:26This dig could rewrite the tower map.
01:30Welcome to the secret world of the Tower of London.
01:42Another portcullers.
01:43We'd normally keep it closed to keep the peasants out.
01:45But we've opened it up today to let you lot in.
01:50The fortress has waved goodbye to winter
01:53and is opening its gates to a new season.
01:56Hundreds of tourists are already queuing up
01:58to hear the yeoman warders' tales of terror.
02:02That's where we executed Queen Anne Boleyn.
02:05If I'm being truthful,
02:07it is where we sell your children ice creams.
02:13Springtime is the best time at the Tower of London.
02:15It's absolutely amazing.
02:17The sun is shining,
02:18all the flowers in the moat are blooming
02:20and all these beautiful people from around the world
02:22are coming to take in all the history.
02:25I'm talking about an execution so good
02:27that you get blood on your face 12 rows back.
02:34But the Tower isn't just a source of intrigue, scandal and torture.
02:39For almost a thousand years,
02:41it's played a crucial role in national events,
02:44from gun salutes for the state opening of Parliament
02:47to royal visits.
02:51You're happy for the photograph, sir?
02:53And 2025 is no exception.
02:57It's going to be a busy one for yeoman jailer Clive Towle.
03:01This year we've got quite a few interesting things happening.
03:04We've got our Easter parade,
03:06a very important parade in the calendar.
03:08It's when we would march the constable to church.
03:11And also we're going to celebrate VE 80,
03:14featuring Europe 80 years on,
03:16by bringing back 30,000 poppies from the Tower of London,
03:20which is quite exciting.
03:21In 2014, the Tower marked the centenary of World War I,
03:29with a breathtaking display of ceramic poppies.
03:33888,246 of them,
03:37each representing a life lost in the war.
03:42Planted one by one,
03:44they flooded the moat in a powerful tide of remembrance,
03:48capturing hearts, headlines,
03:50and drawing millions of visitors from around the world.
03:53Even a few VIPs.
03:56Now 30,000 poppies are returning,
03:59this time to celebrate 80 years since VE Day,
04:03in a daring reimagining
04:05that hopes to be every bit as unforgettable and powerful
04:09as its predecessor.
04:11It's a symbol of remembrance
04:13that everybody recognises in this country,
04:15and, yeah, it just means a huge amount.
04:17The poppies will be unveiled in a major event
04:20at the start of May,
04:22but there's still a huge amount to organise.
04:25Here, Clive.
04:27White, all about sugar.
04:29Robin, thank you.
04:30Clive and his boss,
04:31Chief Yeoman Warder Rob Fuller,
04:33are expecting the display to attract a lot of attention.
04:37So we'll have all the veterans in,
04:39maybe a royal or two, who knows?
04:41If we get the big crowds we're looking at,
04:43coming in to look at the poppies,
04:45I should imagine we'll get big queues.
04:47There's a lot to think about, isn't there?
04:48So, request for leave denied that day for everyone.
04:53A project of this scale
04:54involves teams across the whole of the fortress.
04:57At the helm will be the Governor of the Tower,
04:59Brigadier Andrew Jackson.
05:02He wasn't in charge for the 2014 display,
05:05and has a lot to live up to.
05:07It's so exciting, because these poppies were...
05:10The word iconic is overused,
05:12but this was a real draw for millions of people.
05:16But there's time pressure to get this in place by the 6th of May,
05:20so the installation has got to run like clockwork.
05:24Another person responsible for pulling off this monumental event
05:27is project manager Ali Richardson.
05:31This afternoon, she's meeting Governor Andrew and designer Tom Piper,
05:35who created the original installation...
05:38Hello. Nice to meet you, Tom.
05:41..to talk through some of the challenges.
05:45This is going to be our most high-profile event this year.
05:47It's really important that we make it spectacular.
05:51In 2014, the poppies were only displayed in the moat.
05:55This time, the team wants to wow the public
05:58by creating an enormous steel structure
06:00that attaches the poppies to the oldest building in the tower.
06:06So, we've got the cascade coming off the White Tower
06:09that'll come from the crenellations up there.
06:11So, if you look up, they'll cascade down,
06:13hopefully get as far as that kind of middle window with some of them.
06:17It's like there's a droplet that's kind of come off that cascade.
06:19As if it's coming, dropping down and then sort of bouncing back up.
06:22That will be amazing, and I'm sure it'll look absolutely incredible.
06:25And they'll cascade down the slope here,
06:28and that's the area that was damaged in World War II as well.
06:30Of course, yes.
06:31Wow, it's really poignant.
06:32It's a real connection with the tower's history.
06:35The Second World War hit the tower hard.
06:38From September 1940 to May 1941,
06:42London was devastated by night after night of bombing during the Blitz.
06:47Large parts of the city were flattened.
06:49There was significant damage to the fortress,
06:52and lives were lost.
06:5980 years from the end of the conflict...
07:02Let's go.
07:03...Tom is hoping his poppy design
07:05will be a reminder of the suffering of war.
07:07So the centrepiece of his display will be a striking installation
07:11he's called the Wound.
07:14So this is where the wound is going to be.
07:16In a way it's almost like a frozen explosion,
07:18about five metre high kind of spurs of poppies.
07:21Obviously it's got to be engineered in such a way that it doesn't fall over.
07:24Yeah.
07:25But it needs to have a kind of real dynamic energy.
07:28To execute Tom's spectacular design,
07:32the team will not only have to find a safe way
07:34to attach an eight metre long metal structure
07:37to a grade one listed building,
07:40but also work out how to insert thousands of poppies
07:43into the protected lawns.
07:45We will need to be careful about how deep we plant them,
07:48because we need to have an eye to what's hidden under here
07:50that we don't already know about.
07:51It is a very sensitive site.
07:54You're dealing with, you know, ancient historic buildings
07:58and we're trying to put big metal sculptures on top of them.
08:02I'm feeling quite nervous about it.
08:03It's a very high profile project for me to be working on.
08:06Tower has stood for a thousand years.
08:08We can't be the ones who cause any damage to it.
08:14Coming up, the biggest archaeological dig in a generation
08:17becomes a hunt for a long lost building.
08:20And this is actually the earliest plan of the Tower of London.
08:25But what makes it really interesting is what it doesn't show.
08:29The pressure's on to ensure the poppies arrive in one piece.
08:34I've looked at every single one.
08:36And there are nearly 30,000 of them.
08:39And some new arrivals adjust to life at the fortress.
08:42I'll walk out the bathroom and forget that there are 30 people
08:45looking through the window and get the shock of my life.
08:48They get the shock of their life.
08:50The Tower of London contains some of the most important buildings in the country.
09:03One of its jewels is the Chapel of St. Peter Advincula,
09:07built by none other than King Henry VIII over 500 years ago.
09:10That chapel today contains the celebrity A-list of the 16th century.
09:16It's part of an elite club that includes Westminster Abbey and St. George's Chapel at Windsor.
09:22They are known as Royal Peculiars, churches that are under direct authority of the King.
09:27It's also the final resting place of Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey.
09:34From today, this iconic building at the very heart of the Tower will be closed for 11 months.
09:39So we've got the hoarding to go all the way around here.
09:43Because the Tower team is starting a project to install a new lift to improve access to the interior.
09:49We've got the guys coming in to start lifting up the slabs and then we'll start actually digging the excavation and then hopefully put a lift in.
09:58It's an incredible opportunity for building's curator, Alfred Hawkins.
10:02In order to install this lift, we're going to need to perform quite a large excavation.
10:08So hugely exciting from a historic and archaeological perspective.
10:12This will be one of the most important digs the Tower has ever done.
10:17Although the chapel was built in 1519, archaeologists believe there were buildings around this spot many centuries earlier.
10:25But they just haven't been able to prove where.
10:27The archaeology could actually provide us with evidence of those previous buildings and could help us create an even better story about the development of the Tower.
10:38An archaeological dig is like peeling back layers of time.
10:43And Alfred has managed to lay his hands on an old map of the Tower to help him work out what might be there.
10:50So this map is from 1597.
10:52And this is actually the earliest reliable plan of the Tower of London.
10:58But what makes it really interesting is what it doesn't show.
11:02Where we've got areas where there's nothing on these plans, if we find something in that area, then broadly we can date it to before this map existed.
11:14And then we're really discovering new elements of the tower that haven't previously been documented elsewhere.
11:20The tower's shape has changed over time. New buildings were constructed, but then vanished.
11:27One of the most famous of these is a chapel built by Edward I, who way back in the 1200s created much of the tower as we know it today.
11:35It's believed that Edward's Chapel originally stood to the north of St. Peter at Vincula.
11:42But nothing has ever been found to confirm this.
11:46Alfred and his team are hoping the lift excavations might just reveal evidence of this lost chapel.
11:52This is really kind of a once in a generation opportunity to find the buildings that previously existed in this space and to share their stories.
12:05Away from the chapel works, the fortress is very much open for business.
12:11You want to see the crown jewels?
12:12I want to see the crown jewels.
12:13Fantastic.
12:14For the last 12 years, yeoman warder Matt Prime has been living and working at one of the most famous buildings in the world.
12:22Let's be heading off!
12:24Hey!
12:25But in just one month, he will hang up his Tudor bonnet for good.
12:30I'm about to retire.
12:31I'm finished with the tower and off to sunny Spain.
12:34What I will really miss, you know, we joke about it, but I'll miss these guys. I'll miss the public.
12:40They're absolutely amazed by this fantastic place.
12:43You know, I'm part of making their memories.
12:46Matt has an extra special connection with the tower.
12:49As in 2021, he and his wife, Jo, married in St. Peter Advincula.
12:56This is a unique job.
12:57There is nothing like it.
12:58There's only 35 of us.
13:00And they say there's more people that have been in space that have been yeoman warders.
13:06And we'll finish our tour right next to where all the rotted bodies are buried.
13:10A little treat for the kids.
13:12All of the staff at the tower have important roles.
13:19But one of the most visible has to be that of the tower's deputy governor.
13:23A post which, for the last seven years, has been held by naval officer Debbie Whittingham.
13:29Well, the deputy governor is a title that's unique to the Tower of London,
13:32but their role is to be the head of all the operations.
13:36They're the person that is making everything work here.
13:39It's a critical role to the tower, pulling all the operation of the tower together
13:43so that we're all going in one direction.
13:47Debbie was the first ever woman to hold the deputy governor title.
13:52The Tower of London.
13:54And her time at the tower featured many unforgettable experiences.
13:59From the reopening of the fortress after the Covid lockdown.
14:02I just feel really happy.
14:04The tower's back.
14:05To the crowning of a new monarch.
14:08We're leaving history, but we're about to go and make it.
14:11But now Debbie has retired.
14:13And the aptly nicknamed power at the tower has left some supersized shoes to fill.
14:22Enter Brigadier Anna Kimber, who took on the role and a new home at the fortress in January.
14:29After I got the job, we were able to come down and have a look at the house.
14:33And the arrival instruction, you turn right at the first drawbridge.
14:38Yeah, yeah.
14:39And I was like, that's probably the best set of directions I think I'll ever get.
14:44Anna had a 33-year career in the Army Logistics Corps and can handle most things.
14:50But there are still some aspects to living in the world famous fortress that she and her 21-year-old son, Seb, are getting used to.
14:59There are some rules and regulations for living here, understandably.
15:02When you can drive in, when you can park your car outside, when you can get your food delivery, timings like that.
15:08Can't leave the house without your wallet, otherwise you're not getting back in.
15:11That kind of thing.
15:12That sort of thing.
15:13Yeah.
15:14What's that happen to you?
15:15A few times, yeah.
15:17Often what I forget is that people are constantly here looking through your window.
15:21So I'll walk out the bathroom and forget that there are 30 people looking through the window and get the shock of my life.
15:27A day they get the shock of their life.
15:29Yeah, yeah, exactly, yeah.
15:30And you're kind of sharing your house with 10,000 people a day.
15:3413,000 people a day.
15:35But yeah, I wouldn't change it.
15:37Despite the curious neighbours, Anna is delighted to be taking her place in the tower's history.
15:43It is very unique.
15:45I mean, nothing beats living here.
15:46You know, our view is looking out onto a nearly 1,000-year-old building.
15:51I think the more the realisation sinks in, the luckier I feel.
15:57One of the first big projects Anna will oversee is the return of the poppies to the tower as part of its VE Day commemoration.
16:05Whilst most of the 2014 poppies were sold to the public to raise money for charity,
16:1130,000 of them were bought on behalf of the nation by two philanthropists.
16:15The poppies are now in the Imperial War Museum's collection.
16:19And curator Laura Clouting has taken them out of storage with project manager Ali Richardson.
16:26I've looked at every single one and there are nearly 30,000 of them.
16:30And the man who created the poppies, Paul Cummins.
16:34What's it like for you seeing them again?
16:37It's a lot of memories, but I love the idea of coming back to life.
16:42They were made in Stoke, which were in Derby.
16:45And we got 300 people separately to put them together with hands, so they looked different.
16:51And the idea was the body of the clay is the individual soldier who died.
16:57And the red is the uniform that they wore.
17:00So we're all the same, but different.
17:03Obviously this time we're bringing them back to the tower to commemorate the end of the Second World War.
17:08And we're so excited to have them back. It's a really nice symmetry.
17:12The poppy became a symbol of remembrance after the end of the First World War,
17:17which saw one of Britain's greatest ever losses of life in conflict.
17:22During the war, poppies were a common sight on the Western Front, flourishing in the soil, churned up by fighting.
17:29The poppy continues to be this way of giving pause, stopping and thinking about the lives that are lost in conflict.
17:39This year's display, though much smaller in scale, will hopefully have the same connection with the public.
17:46I can't wait to see a new iteration of them in this amazing sight.
17:51The Tower of London is just utterly spectacular.
17:54It'll be a really proud moment and relief to see them all there, in situ, looking their finest, hopefully.
18:09Every year the Tower hosts a series of flagship events that shows off the fortress at its finest, including three state parades,
18:18the first of which will be on Easter Sunday.
18:21The ceremony dates back decades.
18:26Over at the Tower, more London sightseers watch the traditional parade of the German warders, inspected by the Governor of the Tower.
18:32It's a cherished tradition, featuring a customary inspection of the troops, which this year will be carried out by Deputy Governor Anna.
18:42We can put families here. OK.
18:44Normally, the parade begins outside the King's House and heads round Tower Green to the Chapel of St. Peter Advincula.
18:52But with the chapel out of action, Anna and Yeoman Jailor Clive need to make a rare change to the parade route,
19:02a high-pressure first assignment for our new Deputy Governor.
19:06So, Anna, first state parade. Are you ready to go?
19:09I'm ready. I think.
19:11So, I'm going to start here.
19:13And when the Chief is ready, he'll salute, introduce the General,
19:16and then you can both come out and inspect the troops.
19:19Starting at the front right, going along.
19:21So, you're not inspecting the back? You're just...
19:23No. You're just...
19:24Yeah, there'll be enough vaults in the front row.
19:27And then when we're ready to go, we will turn the parade to the right,
19:30and then we are going to march.
19:31Once the parade reaches Tower Green, Canon Roger Hall will lead a special outdoor service of Easter celebration.
19:38It will be a huge change to tradition, under the scrutiny of a massive audience.
19:44So, normally it would be into the chapel?
19:47Yes.
19:48And would actually take place in... inside?
19:51Inside, in the warm, you know, 180-odd guests.
19:54It'll be packed. This time, no outside.
19:57So, more... You know, there'll be more than 180 people here on Sunday.
20:01Yeah.
20:02With thousands of visitors a day, it's quite a challenge for Anna.
20:06Don't think I've done a parade with this many people watching before. So, you want to get it right.
20:11I've been warned about the boots, and they're quite slippy.
20:15So, I'm slightly apprehensive. I might have to go and do something about getting them sorted out before then,
20:19so they don't go underneath me.
20:22Back at St. Peter's, digging for the new lift is underway,
20:28and everyone is hoping that they might also find evidence of Edward I's long-lost chapel.
20:35There's a fine bag here. And Sharpie.
20:41But they've already made a discovery, and it's not the one they were hoping for.
20:46We have, unfortunately, encountered this very large route
20:50moving through precisely where the lift is going to be.
20:54We are in a conservation area,
20:56and so we now need to get lots of extra permissions from Tower Hamlets Council
21:01in order to cut this and progress with the excavation.
21:05To make matters worse, the route is entangled with some major pipework,
21:10and site manager Guy Seddon has got his concerns.
21:13As you can see here, we've got water pipes, gas pipes,
21:16there's even a sewer drain coming through the middle of it.
21:19We definitely don't want to hit a live sewer pipe,
21:20because otherwise we will flood the area with human excrement.
21:24It's a costly delay.
21:26The team will have to down tools with no idea of when they can restart.
21:34Coming up, Raven Master Barney gets his feathers in a twist.
21:38The raven was hiding from me, it seems, and actually laughed at me when I got back.
21:42And there's an exciting discovery relating to the lost chapel of Edward I.
21:48This is a building that no-one has previously located.
21:57It's lunchtime at the Fortress.
21:59Prime time to scavenge for the Tower's legendary protectors, the ravens.
22:06Please be very careful if you stick your finger out.
22:09They will take that as food.
22:11Oh, careful.
22:12Rescue child and sandwich.
22:13We do feed them though, I promise.
22:15Despite their fascination with the beady-eyed sentinels,
22:18there's one thing the public struggle with.
22:21Raven Master Barney Chandler is regularly asked one question.
22:25The confusion between ravens and crows, how do you tell the difference?
22:28A few years ago, I actually got called out to Tower Bridge, believe it or not,
22:31because somebody thought they'd seen one of our ravens on the bridge.
22:35I hadn't seen one of our ravens for a few hours, so I just thought,
22:39I'll go and have a look.
22:41And lo and behold, when I arrived, the bird in question was a crow.
22:45And then I came back, it turns out the raven was hiding from me, it seems,
22:48and actually laughed at me when I got back.
22:51To find out the difference between his feathery flock and the humble crow,
22:55Barney has been doing some research.
22:58The main obvious difference is their size.
23:01Okay, the crow is about a third of the size smaller.
23:04There are other differences as well.
23:06The beacon of raven is more pronounced, more aggressive.
23:08Their throat feathers are more bushy on a raven.
23:13But even the way they fly as well, their manoeuvrability is second to none.
23:17A raver in California was seen flying upside down for up to a mile.
23:21Just head and shoulders, in my opinion, above the crow.
23:25But I'm biased.
23:27Almost as iconic as the ravens are the yeoman warders' world-famous uniforms,
23:33known as reds, which are worn on state occasions.
23:37And the top brass at the tower also get some pretty unusual headgear.
23:41Hi, come in.
23:42Deputy Governor Anna Kimber needs a ceremonial uniform
23:46for her first outing in her new role, the Easter State Parade.
23:51So I've got all my kit in here.
23:53This morning, Paul Bain-Monri from Cooper Stevens Headwear
23:57is fitting her with her bicorn hat.
24:00And he's brought along a rather strange tool of his trade.
24:04So we're going to measure your head with this machine called a conformature,
24:09which is designed in the 19th century in France.
24:13It's the best way of actually to tilt the head back,
24:16of not only getting the shape of your head, but the size of it as well.
24:19Wow.
24:20Certainly snug.
24:21The conformature is made up of wooden levers that are just around the head,
24:28taking its form.
24:30The levers are topped with pins, which are pressed into a card displaying the measurements.
24:35A little card then has the shape of your head.
24:41Oh, my goodness.
24:42How many of these a year will you make?
24:44On bicorns, about two a year.
24:46Oh, wow.
24:47That's quite special.
24:48Yes, it is, yeah.
24:49Goodness.
24:50It's a very dying craft.
24:51Meaning two horned, the bicorn was the hat of choice for officers in the Army and Navy in the late 1700s.
25:01Naval officers wore it with the points front and back.
25:06Though the most famous bicorn enthusiast, Napoleon Bonaparte, preferred to wear his side to side.
25:14It's very distinctive.
25:15There's literally only a handful of people across the country that have got one.
25:18You know, never thought in a million years that I would have one as well.
25:21Very special.
25:23It'll be a real privilege to wear that for the first time on Easter Sunday.
25:33What sections can we stand on and what do we need to avoid?
25:36At the chapel excavation, there's good news.
25:39Permission has been granted to remove the enormous tree root that's called a halt to the dig.
25:44We've just got to go slow here, I think.
25:47But it's not going to be easy.
25:49The root is entwined with gas and sewage pipes.
25:52Not to mention the job is a little outside gardener Kelly McPherson's usual remit.
25:57So as gardeners here at the Tower of London, our typical jobs actually are to take care of the green spaces on the outside rather than underground.
26:07Armed with a saw rather than an axe, it's less of an execution, more precision surgery.
26:13We'll make another cut here and just see whether or not we can lift this section.
26:18One wrong move and the site could be flooded with the sewage, setting the dig back even further.
26:24Yeah.
26:25That's it.
26:26Catch it.
26:27Then suddenly, it's out.
26:28Oh, we'll remove this.
26:29Yeah.
26:30OK, thank you.
26:31You're most welcome.
26:32After a two-week delay, the team are keen to make up for lost time.
26:43Their hope is that through excavations for the new lift, they may unearth clues as to the whereabouts of Edward I's lost chapel that's been missing for centuries.
26:54And Alfred thinks he might have uncovered something significant.
26:59He's discovered compacted layers in the ground, and it looks like it could have been burnt in a fire.
27:08We often find deposits related to burning.
27:11The tower is an industrial place.
27:13However, this is a compacted layer of burning, which suggests that there was a large burning event.
27:21This layer of ash, compressed over time, is likely to have been caused by a large building being destroyed by fire.
27:32But could it be connected to the chapel of Edward I?
27:36To discover more, Alfred has turned to the archives, and he's found something intriguing.
27:42It says here in 1512, the chapel in the Tower of London and many other places in England were burned.
27:50And so that tells us that Edward I's chapel must have burned down and then been replaced with the current chapel of St Peter at Vincula itself.
28:03So what we may have found is actually the destruction of Edward I's chapel in 1512.
28:11If this discovery is connected to Edward's chapel, it would be a huge breakthrough.
28:17And excitingly, more clues have come to light as the team sift through the earth removed from the excavation.
28:24So another interesting find that we've made is a number of pieces of glazed medieval tile.
28:31And these are really important because they are so decorative and so lavish.
28:37And this is a key and integral part of medieval architecture in displaying power.
28:43Decorative tiles would be found in important buildings such as a palace, a castle, or a church.
28:51But Alfred and his team need more concrete evidence.
28:55It doesn't say this is definitively Edward I's chapel, but this dig could rewrite the tower map.
29:06The excavation means that the chapel of St Peter at Vincula is out of action.
29:11So this year there will be an Easter service outside on Tower Green.
29:16Chapel clerk Yeoman Warder Terry Briggs is preparing a one-of-a-kind artifact for a key role in the ceremony.
29:24So this is the Ethiopian cross.
29:26It's brought out for any services that take place outside of the chapel.
29:30I'll be carrying this on Easter Sunday.
29:33The cross was given in memory of those killed in Abyssinia and Eritrea in the Second World War.
29:41The wood dates back to William the Conqueror.
29:44The silver that goes around it, that was done by a family out in Ethiopia from melted-down coins.
29:52It'll be prior to place on Sunday.
29:55So I've got to make sure that when I'm stood there holding it, it's looking extra, extra special.
30:01Easter Sunday is fast approaching,
30:04and it will be an especially moving day for Yeoman Warder Matt Prime,
30:09who's retiring after 12 incredible years.
30:12Before he leaves, he has another rite of passage to complete,
30:16and it's one that's been central to his life at the Tower.
30:20This is my last tour, last public tour of my career.
30:23Feeling a little bit nervous, actually.
30:25I've done nearly 4,000 tours, but, yeah, I want to do a good one for my last one.
30:29OK, guys, if you're here for the Yeoman Warders tour, please come right in.
30:35Matt's unique. His tour's always been very good.
30:38He adds stuff that we've never heard of before.
30:41Who doesn't want to interact with a monkey dressed in human clothing?
30:45We plagiarise it. It doesn't work, because his timing's better than ours.
30:49He named himself the head of the church in England, and he's signed his own divorce papers.
30:53Genius! That would have saved me £75,000.
30:58It is beginning to sink in. It's real.
31:02You know, it's not a job. It's a way of life.
31:05You know, you live and breathe it 24-7.
31:07But, er, there's a whole new part of my life starting,
31:10and I'm looking forward to it.
31:12I enjoy the tour. My name's Yeoman Ward and Matt Prime.
31:15I'd like you guys to do something for me.
31:18Can I just stop?
31:19Yes.
31:21Could you just step off of it?
31:25OK, sorry to interrupt the tour, ladies and gentlemen.
31:28Now, Matt is going to be quite upset to hear this,
31:32but it's his very last tour.
31:34Yay!
31:36So, please, show your appreciation for Matt one more time.
31:43Thank you very much.
31:44Thank you very much.
31:45It's not enough to go round. I do apologise.
31:51Nice for him to come and shake your hand and give you a hug and say goodbye.
31:55So, it is a little bit emotional. I shall go home and regroup.
31:59Thank you, guys.
32:00You've finally got a laugh.
32:01Get off the grass.
32:02While Matt prepares to say goodbye to his uniform,
32:14Anna's brand-new one is taking shape.
32:17Armed with her unique head measurements,
32:20craftsman Murad Suleiman is constructing Anna's bicorn hat,
32:24using a centuries-old technique.
32:27It's just hands, irons, heat.
32:30The one-of-a-kind process began weeks ago.
32:33We start with the felt hood,
32:36and then what we do, we steam this until it goes really soft,
32:41and then we pull it and nail it to the body.
32:45The felt is then hardened with several layers of linen,
32:49stiffened with a natural glue and laminated together with the iron.
32:53Murad's now got the nail-biting job of cutting it to size.
32:58You know, this is months' worth of work,
33:01and it comes down to this knife, making sure you don't slip.
33:13And there we are.
33:14I think that's perfect.
33:15Now this has got to go on the fire.
33:17Using the heat, Murad moulds the hat by hand,
33:21a skill he has spent years perfecting.
33:24The longer you do it, you know what you're looking for.
33:28See that lovely shape there?
33:30That's beautiful, that.
33:32To give it its opulent exterior,
33:35the bicorn is covered with black silk.
33:38This is all about patience.
33:44Oh, you've got to start all over again.
33:47I have to wait until the hat's happy.
33:50It's nice.
33:54As they say, sweet as.
33:57Back at the tower, the dig team have made a major discovery.
34:06After unearthing the tiles and the burnt remnants
34:09of what could be part of Edward I's missing chapel,
34:12the team have dug down even further back in time.
34:16So as we've excavated, we've come down onto this patch of stonework.
34:21And this is fantastically interesting for us
34:24because the way in which this stonework is formed,
34:27stepping out towards me,
34:29is a foundation for a very large building.
34:33And so the only building that would require foundations
34:37as massive as this would be Edward I's Chapel.
34:42Buried for hundreds of years, hidden from sight,
34:45it looks like Alfred and the team may finally have found evidence
34:49of Edward's missing chapel.
34:51But it's not where they thought it would be.
34:54What it looks like is that the Tudor Chapel that we know now
34:58is actually built on top of and reusing the foundations
35:02of Edward I's Chapel.
35:04This was not what anyone was expecting.
35:07Edward I's Chapel appears to have roughly the same footprint
35:11as the current Henry VIII's Chapel,
35:14with an annex at one end that was added at some point in its history.
35:20All of the previous work on the chapel
35:23thought that the previous chapel, built by Edward I,
35:27must be away somewhere to the north behind the current building.
35:31And we've actually discovered that the opposite is true.
35:35And so this completely revolutionises the map of the tower.
35:40For Alfred, this is a once-in-a-career discovery.
35:44We've found a lost building that, for the last 500 years,
35:49has only existed in words.
35:51This is one of the most exciting things that has been found at the tower in decades.
35:57Coming up...
36:03Anna faces her first major event at the tower.
36:06But would it all go smoothly?
36:08Actually, I'm quite nervous.
36:09There'll be thousands of people watching.
36:11And Matt's final parade has arrived.
36:14It's a very special uniform to put on,
36:17and I shall take it off with a little lump in my throat, I think.
36:20It's Easter Sunday morning,
36:29and the tower is preparing for a highlight in its calendar,
36:32the Easter State Parade.
36:35With the chapel of St Peter Advincula out of action,
36:38this year the parade will end in a special service on Tower Green,
36:42in front of enormous crowds.
36:45So, I'm going to need some help with my boots on.
36:47Yeah.
36:48All eyes will be on new Deputy Governor Anna Kimber,
36:52who is overseeing the event.
36:54But she's already had to call in the cavalry,
36:56in the shape of her son Seb,
36:58to help her get into her new state uniform for the first time.
37:02So, if you don't mind just pulling it down as tight as you can.
37:06That's quite fiddly, isn't it?
37:08It is quite fiddly.
37:10Getting ready is not a one-person job.
37:12It's a million and one things that you need to have.
37:18These two clips here.
37:20Gosh, yeah, this could take out a second.
37:24Oh.
37:26I'd like to say I can breathe in, but I don't think I can.
37:30Sweet. Done? Yeah.
37:31The final touch is Anna's brand-new bicorn hat,
37:35now complete with swan feather plume and a Royal Logistics Corps button,
37:40as a nod to her past.
37:45There we go.
37:46Does that look all right?
37:47Yeah, it's on straight.
37:48The hat fits really, really well, and it's really, really comfortable.
37:51She looks amazing.
37:52She's good, isn't it?
37:53She's clearly done a good job.
37:54Yeah, she's done an amazing job.
37:56As well as inspecting the troops for the first time,
38:00Anna's been asked to do a reading in the ceremony,
38:03in front of hordes of tourists.
38:05And if it wasn't enough, there's something else she's still worrying about.
38:09The leather soles on these shoes are really, you know, really slippy.
38:13Actually, I'm quite nervous.
38:15There'll be thousands of people watching,
38:17but I am really looking forward to it.
38:24Outside, families are packing into the fortress
38:26with no idea they're about to witness a very rare Sunday surface.
38:31Where have you come from today?
38:33Ah, Peru.
38:34Oh, Peru. Goodness me. Long way.
38:36Yeah.
38:39At precisely 11.45am,
38:44Chief Yeoman Warder Rob Fuller leads the Yeoman body out to muster
38:48in front of the King's house.
38:50Yeoman body sent!
38:52We're ready for your inspection for the Easter parade.
38:55And the new Deputy Governor steps out to inspect her troops.
39:09Inspection complete, sir. Permission to carry on?
39:12Yep. Yep.
39:16Yeoman body, by the left!
39:18Quick!
39:19March!
39:20As they march to Tower Green,
39:31Ann must stay in step with the Yeoman warders.
39:38But can her new boots handle the slippery cobbles?
39:41Come on, buddy!
39:42Come on!
39:43Come on!
39:44The Tower comes to a standstill, and all eyes turn to the Reverend Canon Roger Hall.
39:54We are gathered here as in age-old tradition, Yeoman warders and officers of the Tower of London,
40:09for this Easter parade.
40:12Then Anna takes to the stage.
40:18And he said unto them,
40:20Be not affrighted.
40:22Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth.
40:26He is risen.
40:27He is not here.
40:29Behold the place they laid him.
40:31Watched by the Tower top brass.
40:34Neither said they anything to any man,
40:37for they were afraid.
40:38So it is that this Easter morning,
40:43we once more rejoice in the triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ over sin and death.
40:52Happy Easter!
40:54Yeoman body, by the left!
40:56Quick!
40:57March!
41:01Chapel clerk Yeoman warder Terry Briggs carried the iconic Ethiopian cross,
41:06and remarkably, it was recognized by someone in the crowd.
41:10The granddaughter of the silversmith who made this amazing cross was actually in attendance.
41:15This is used every Sunday for a church service inside the St. Peter's.
41:20And she could go back with some amazing stories for her grandfather, who's going to be very proud.
41:25Being able to see the cross that my grandfather made is such an honor.
41:27I didn't know that his cross was going to be used at the Easter ceremony today,
41:30and so it kind of was just a perfect set of coincidences, actually.
41:35The Easter service has brought the community together.
41:38And as one tower story begins...
41:41It meant the world to have my family here.
41:43It makes it so much more special.
41:45I really enjoyed it.
41:46I was nervous beforehand, I won't lie.
41:49It's the first time I've worn uniform.
41:51Nothing fell off when I walked or I didn't fall over.
41:53I was worried about slipping.
41:54So, no, it's all good.
41:56I really enjoyed it.
41:57But I am quite glad that the first one is now done.
42:01Another ends.
42:03It was a little bit more sort of emotional than I thought it was.
42:07This is my last time in reds, which is a great honor.
42:10I mean, that's the king cypher on your chest.
42:12It's a very special uniform to put on, and I shall take it off with a little lump in my throat, I think.
42:20It's glendiferous.
42:26Next time, some new arrivals are causing quite a stir.
42:31Hello, mate.
42:32I've got the two new ravers at the Tower of London, and they're sharing my kitchen.
42:37The ancient fortress prepares for one of its most complex events in years.
42:43It's a good test for us to see how we're going to get all these pieces into site
42:47safely and securely over our medieval drawbridges.
42:51What is that with you, mate? You all right here?
42:54And there's a brand new discovery that changes everything we know about Queen Elizabeth I.
43:00This complete rewriting of history from one page to the next, that is spine-tingling.
43:06And it's a delicate page-turner. Don't miss it next Thursday at 8.
43:11Followed by an iconic name in drama, Five's first Play For Today stars Anita Dobson and Nigel Havers.
43:18It's never too late, brand new next Thursday at 9.
43:21Head to Peru's lost city in a moment, Dan Snow face-to-face with an ice mummy, frozen in time for over 500 years.
43:27It's a pretty intense encounter in just a moment on Five.
43:31both
43:34and
43:43at the
43:45and
43:48it's not only
43:51you
43:52it's
43:54not only
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