ROYAL PRISONERS Among the seven prisoners executed on Tower Green were three queens of England: Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII; Catherine Howard, Henry's fifth wife and Lady Jane Grey.

The Tower of London has a grim reputation for high-profile executions, though most actually took place on the nearby Tower Hill rather than inside the walls. Famous figures executed within the Tower's "inner circle" include three queens of England: Anne Boleyn (1536), Catherine Howard (1542), and Lady Jane Grey (1554), the "Nine Days' Queen." Other notable individuals executed on Tower Hill include the philosopher Sir Thomas More, the powerful statesman Thomas Cromwell, and the rebellious Duke of Monmouth. The very last person to be executed at the Tower was the German spy Josef Jakobs, who was shot by a firing squad in August 1941 during World War II. While thousands were imprisoned, only a select group of high-status individuals were granted the "privilege" of a private execution away from the jeering crowds, which is why the names of those executed inside the Tower remain so well-known in British history.