July
29
/ 2023
The Tower of London has served as a stronghold, royal residence and a notorious prison for prominent figures ranging from Guy Fawkes to Elizabeth I. But few know that for over 600 years it was also home to a curious assortment of residents, including—wait for it—a polar bear. It first started to house exotic animals in the 1200s, when King John relocated the royal menagerie (created to supply game for Henry I's hunts) from Oxford. In 1235, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II gifted three lions to Henry III as a gesture of friendship, symbolic of the lions on the royal crest. The event inspired King Henry to start a zoo. Menageries had been popular among European elites since the 8th
