Did You Know the British Royals Once Had a Personal Zoo in the Tower of London?

Lanford Beard

The British royal family has received plenty of gifts over the years, and they once pooled some of them together to create their own private zoo!

According to Historic Royal Places, the Tower of London was home to a collection of exotic wild animals, including lions and polar bears gifted to British royalty, from the 13th century until just before the reign of Queen Victoria.

"#OTD in 1835, the Tower Menagerie opened to the public one last time before closing for good," the Tower of London tweeted on Monday. "Founded in the early 1200s to keep wild animals gifted to monarchs, some of the Menagerie's exotic inhabitants were eventually moved to @zsllondonzoo."

The Tower zoo began in 1235, after King Henry III was presented with three lions by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Over time, the lions were joined by a polar bear in 1252 and an African elephant in 1255.

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The collection had been expanded by 1622 to include three eagles, two pumas, a tiger, and a jackal, as well as more lions and leopards. All in all, more than 60 species of animals made up the menagerie over the centuries — even a kangaroo.

And that polar bear? According to HRP, he found his lunch by "fishing" in the nearby Thames River.

Robert Alexander/Getty

However, concerns over the animal welfare eventually led to the menagerie's closure in 1835, with many of the wildlife sold to zoos or traveling circuses. The London Zoo, now located in Regent's Park, was founded by the original 150 animals moved from the Tower Menagerie, and in 2010 life-size galvanized wire sculptures by artist Kendra Haste were commissioned to commemorate a few of the animals that once roamed the tower greens.

Photo 12/Universal Images Group/getty

Even though the modern royals no longer have their own menagerie, Britain's reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth, 95, has been associated with the London Zoo for decades.

She inaugurated an elephant tracking program in central Kenya in 1990, in addition to opening the Millennium Conservation center in 1999. The late Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, also opened the zoo's Gorilla Kingdom in 2007, as well as the Tiger Territory in 2013.