Friday, June 29, 2012

Friday's Newsflash - Big Ben Renamed Elizabeth Tower

It's official! Big Ben will be renamed to Elizabeth Tower in honour of the Queen's diamond jubilee, according to the announcement made by the House of Commons Commission. There has been campaign made by lawmakers to change the name of the London's famous landmark in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years of reign in the country. Her Majesty is the second monarch to rule the country for such a long period of time, the first being Queen Victoria. There had been a grand ceremony at the beginning of the month with concerts and festivals gracing the country and the renaming of the tower being the icing on the cake, a fitting tribute.

Big Ben = Elizabeth Tower

The iconic parliament clock tower's official name is not Big Ben but the rather unimaginative Clock Tower. The name 'Big Ben' was a mystery in term of its origins. There are two theories as to why the clock tower came to be known as so, the first and widely accepted being in honour of Benjamin Hall, the engineer whose name was inscribed on the bell, and the second, named after Ben Caunt, a champion heavyweight boxer in the 1850s.

Even with the name change, the affectionate name of Big Ben will continue to stick around.

2 comments:

  1. I guess the name of "Big Bang" will stick forever.

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  2. I think so too...you've been there before, is it as iconic as depicted???

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