Tri-Service
Tower Of London Gets Royal Navy Booze Delivery
Sailors from one of the Royal Navy's latest warships have been taking part in a medieval ceremony at the Tower of London.
The Ceremony of the Constables Due's goes back more than 500 years, to the days when the Tower was the centre of royal power.
Every ship that came upstream into London would have to moor at Tower Wharf to unload some of its cargo for the Constable of the Tower - the most senior appointment at the Tower of London.
In return it would then enjoy the protection of the Tower of London guns.
In the past the bounty would have included oysters, mussels, cockles, rushes and wine. The Constable also had the right to claim any horses, oxen, pigs or sheep that fell off London Bridge.
And to this day, every large Royal Navy ship that visits the port of London delivers a barrel of booze to the Constable.
Related topics
Join Our Newsletter
