Trafalgar Square Trivia Quiz

Answer: George Washington

The statue was a present to the people of Britain and Ireland from the state of Virginia in the 1920s. Soil had to be imported from Virginia since Washington is reputed to have said "I will never set foot in London again!"

Answer: True

A hawk is flown daily on Trafalgar Square and although a sometimes controversial measure (some protesting about the bloodthirsty nature of it) it has been quite effective.

Answer: North West

The three 'permanent' statues atop plinths are;

1) General Sir Charles James Napier (South West - a famous general associated with India as well as what is today modern day Pakistan. Also has a city in New Zealand named after him)

2) Major General Sir Henry Havelock (South East - a famous general most associated with India)

3) King George IV (North East - Monarch who acceded to the Throne after 9 years as Prince Regent due to the incapacitation of his father George III. As Prince Regent he had engaged the landscape architect John Nash to redevlop the area that later became Trafalgar Square.)

Answer: 15 million

There are many different measures regarding how many visitors there are to a country, to a city within that country and whether they are tourists or not but it does seem clear that:

- London is one of the top tourist destinations in the world (Euromonitor International estimated London international visitors at 15.6 million for 2006, which was far ahead of any city in terms of INTERNATIONAL visitors)
- Trafalgar Square is one of the top attractions in London, of course bolstered by the fact that it includes the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, St Martin-in-the-Fields Church as well as Trafalgar Square itself.

Answer: Regent Street

Cockspur Street, Whitehall and the Strand all meet at Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square.

Regent Street is close to Trafalgar Square to the West but does not connect directly to it.

Answer: Norway

A spruce or fir tree is donated each year by Oslo (capital of Norway) to commemorate Britain's support for Norway during World War II. Norway's Prince Olav and its Government lived in exile in London during the war.

Answer: It's free

Most major museums and galleries in London have free entry, although they do have suggested amounts for a voluntary contribution.

The idea of free entry is to make them as accessible as possible to the broadest cross section of society and avoid them being seen as elitist.

Answer: Queen Victoria

It was commissioned by Edward VII in memory of his mother (Victoria) but he didn't live to see its unveiling.

Edward was known as the 'Uncle of Europe' and 'Edward the Peacemaker' due to being related to most European royalty and also to being fluent in French and German. He tragically died four years before the advent of World War I.

Answer: 170 feet

Sir Horatio Nelson was a very famous Naval Commander who won many spectacular battles. Trafalgar was Nelson's most famous victory, against a Franco-Spanish fleet, although he was killed during the battle by a French sniper. Visitors to the State Apartments at Windsor Castle can see the bullet that killed him.

Nelson's body was taken back to England and he was afforded a State Funeral. He is one of the very few (less than 15) commoners i.e. non royalty who have been afforded that privilege.

Answer: Charles I

Charing Cross is considered the geographic centre of London and the place where distances are measured from.

The original 'Eleanor Cross'was ordered built by a heartbroken Edward I in a spot along the funeral route of his beloved Eleanor of Castile. The Eleanor Cross was destroyed by Parliamentary Forces during the English Civil War. The name Charing was thought to derive from the name of a small hamlet in that location.

The Charles I statue was originally made in 1633 but was ordered destroyed by Parliament during 1649 at the time of the English Civil War. Luckily it was actually hidden and after the Monarchy had been restored the statue was finally erected on it's present site in 1675.