A week earlier I had been on the same tour of the prison with an invited group of journalists, escorted by a group of tough-looking young women and a warder who joshed his way through the corridors between walls of peeling paint.
She saved up her prison visits for the two weeks of her annual holiday, often spending it in stilted and awkward conversation, with the warder noting down every word of it in case they talked about bombs.
The office of yeoman warder has existed since the Tower was constructed in the 11th century; it is one of the oldest such offices in the world (compare Swiss Guards).
Yeoman warder, also known as Beefeater, the official guardian of the Tower of London.
Prior to being named a yeoman warder, a candidate must have served a minimum of 22 years in the British Army, the Royal Marines, or the Royal Air Force and must have achieved the rank of senior noncommissioned officer.
The first female yeoman warder was installed in 2007.
They are supervised by the chief yeoman warder and the yeoman gaoler.
Individually hand-carved from walrus ivory, and numbering 93 pieces in total – 82 of which are held by the British Museum, the remaining 11 by the National Museum of Scotland – the Lewis Chessmen are world famous for their mysterious origins, unique design and curious, almost comical expressions, which range from moody kings to a frightened-looking warder biting down on his shield.
A male warder was left with a broken cheekbone after being held hostage by three male prisoners, two aged 25 and one aged 26, at HMP Full Sutton in Yorkshire on Sunday.
And this man, the steward, turned out to have been Mandela's former prison warder.
She remembered visiting him in a little cottage at Victor Verster prison, where a white warder guarded him.
