HISTORIC OFFICE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 618, 24 August 1933, Page 3

HISTORIC OFFICE

INDUCTION OF CONSTABLE OF THE TOWER OF LONDON. No longer does the Contable of .the Tower of London look through a slit j to see how many prisoners the barge . is- hringing along the Thames to the j historic fortress. To-day the old pri--! son, begun 850 years ago, is more of a sightseers' paradise than a gaol. . Buit though the Constfable'p duties have ceased to be strenuous, .the cere- ' mony of accepting the keys of the j Tower is still an .impressive one ' (says the New York Times). The recenft induction of FieldMarshal Lord Milne into the office was attended .by the same ritual that was followed in the days of the Tu- ; dors. "The Coroner of the Tower," we .are told, "read the letters patent creating Lord Milne Constable, and ' the Lord Chamberlain, in the name of the King, presented him with the keys to the Tower." In early days, the Constable lived in the Tower and gave his orders to garrison officers and wardens by word of mouth. Now the office is purely complimentary, an honour conferred on a soldier of distinction for long and loyal service. The daily routine is directed by a Resident Governor. The office of Constable of the Tower of London, one of the oldest in England, dates back to within a few years of the Norman Conquest. Geoffrey de Mandeville, appointed by William the Conqueror, was the first Constable. The post, which earried rich emoluments in Tudor days, was for centuries conferred by the King on prelates of the church. Certairt privileges were always accorded the Constable. Even to-day he has authority to correspond directly with the King should -occasion arise, one of the few subjects so honoured. The familiar "beefeaters," or Yeo- J ■ men of the Guard, are still appointed by the Constable, who chooses them, according to custom, from every braneh of the service. As ritual marked the investment of Lord Milne the other day, so ritual marks the passing of the Tower's keys each night, with' the chief warder and the guard as principals.