Tower of London joins the Facebook generation

The ancient Tower of London has tuned into the 21st century with its own Facebook.

The royal palace is keen to shake of its ‘pile of old bricks’ image using the social network to launch a millennium of monumental dates in what is believed to be Facebook’s oldest timeline.

The timeline stretches back almost 1,000 years to 1066 when the foundations for the fortress—now a Unesco World Heritage site—were laid by William the Conqueror using bits of ancient Roman brickwork from the original Londinum wall.

It includes the 1483 murder of the two Princes, the 1538 execution of Anne Boleyn, the 1605 torture of Guy Fawkes, the 1666 Great Fire of London and even the 1941 capture of Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy who flew solo to Scotland in a hair-brained bid to negotiate peace—and was promptly arrested and shoved in The Tower.

“We just wonder if Henry VIII and others down the centuries would have minded having their past scrutinised by the Facebook generation,” said Royal Palaces digital media manager Tim Powell.

“It’s an incredibly powerful way for modern audiences to see into The Tower’s rich history in the same way they interact with friends and record their own lives.”

Facebook launched the new timeline feature a year ago, enabling users to postdate up to 1,000 years.

That makes it possible for The Tower to chart its rich history from William the Conqueror to the present day.

The page can be viewed at www.facebook.com/toweroflondon