William the Conqueror built the White Tower after his 1066 invasion to control a hostile city. The massive stone keep, 90 feet tall with walls 15 feet thick, was the largest building in England. It was a statement: the Normans were here to stay.

The tower was designed as a fortress, royal residence, and administrative center. Kings lived here until the 16th century. The menagerie held exotic animals from the 13th century until 1835. The Royal Mint operated within the walls until 1810. The Tower was a city within a city, serving whatever purpose the crown required.

The Tower's most famous function was as a prison for high-status captives. The first recorded prisoner arrived in 1100. Over nine centuries, a remarkable cast passed through: kings of Scotland and France, the navigator Walter Raleigh (imprisoned for 13 years), the playwright Ben Jonson (briefly), and Nazi Rudolf Hess (in 1941, the last state prisoner).

Conditions varied by rank. Some prisoners lived in relative comfort with servants. Others were tortured in the basement. The rack, the manacles, and 'Scavenger's Daughter' (a compression device) were used to extract confessions. The Tower was England's most feared address.

Only seven people were executed inside the Tower walls - all considered too important or controversial for public execution. Two were wives of Henry VIII: Anne Boleyn in 1536 and Catherine Howard in 1540. Both were beheaded on Tower Green.

Anne Boleyn's execution was particularly theatrical. A swordsman was imported from Calais (the English preferred axes). Anne reportedly said: 'I heard say the executioner was very good, and I have a little neck.' She laughed and touched it. Moments later, she was dead. Her ghost is said to walk the chapel where she's buried.

In 1483, 12-year-old Edward V and his younger brother Richard were placed in the Tower by their uncle, the Duke of Gloucester. They were never seen again. Gloucester became Richard III. Did he murder his nephews? The mystery has never been solved.

In 1674, workmen found a wooden box containing two small skeletons. They were buried in Westminster Abbey as the princes. A 1933 examination was inconclusive about age and cause of death. DNA testing has been requested but not permitted. The Princes in the Tower remain England's most famous cold case.

Six ravens live at the Tower, cared for by the Ravenmaster. Legend holds that if the ravens ever leave, the Tower will crumble and the kingdom will fall. Charles II supposedly established the tradition after considering removing the birds for astronomical observations.

The legend is probably Victorian invention - no records mention it before the 1880s. But the ravens remain, their wings clipped to prevent escape. Tourists photograph them. The Ravenmaster feeds them raw meat and biscuits soaked in blood. The Tower that once housed prisoners and executioners now houses birds and tourists. The terror has faded. The spectacle continues.