Tower of London introduces new tour for LGBT history month

The Tower of London is holding a new tour this February as part of LGBT history month to uncover the stories of queer individuals who lived and died at the Tower.

The tour will include an immersive after-hours theatre tour hosted by a flamboyant raven, which is synonymous with the Tower, who will take you through 700 years of LGBTQA+ history. The show, Queer Lives, originally ran in 2020 and will be back for 5 nights only to coincide for LGBT history month.

Directed by Tom Storey of the Young Vic, Queer Lives will take the form of a promenade performance and will take visitors on a tour through military battlements, prison cells and royal bedchambers where stories relating to each area will be told.

Matthew Storey, the curator at Historic Royal Palaces, spoke to reporters about the show saying: “This is such a long time ago and its difficult to work out if people in the middle ages have the same experiences of gender and sexuality as we do today. But we know same-sex love and desire existed in every single human society.”

The purpose of the tour is not to displace the already known history of the Tower, but to fill in the gaps that have been left behind. Matthew Storey continued: “If you take out these histories, you’re not going to get the complete picture or understanding of what was happening.”

Part of the tour includes the story of King James I of England. Despite writing texts in which he condemned sodomy, it is well documented that his most significant relationships were with men. At the time, he was nicknamed Queen James because of his closeness with his favourite courtiers, Robert Carr and George Villiers. The relationship between the King and Villiers in particular has caused debate because of the romantic and physical nature of their letters. Another royal figure that features is Edward II, who held rooms at the Tower alongside Piers Gaveston. Gaveston resided in the rooms that were traditionally given to the queen and their relationship caused much contention among the nobles at the time. You will also learn about a Royal Fusilier, who appeared in court after being charged with being “an idle and disorderly person in female attire.” The soldier was charged under their birth name but insisted on being addressed as Kathleen Woodhouse and court reporting notes that they told police: “I wish I had been a woman.”

Queer Lives will be at the Tower of London from 18^th-24^th February. Learn more about LGBTQA+ History here.