It is the largest inhabited castle in the world and has more than 1,000 sumptuous rooms, historic treasures and beautiful grounds. Windsor Castle has been a favourite royal residence since its foundations were laid around 900 years ago – and it's not hard to see why. With crenulated fortifications, turrets, towers and moats, it is the prototype for a quintessential English castle. Click or scroll on to take a look at Windsor Castle's fascinating history and the secrets behind its walls...
As you would expect, the castle's origins go way back in the timeline of important British history, and it has housed 39 monarchs over the centuries, making it the oldest continuously occupied castle in the world. Windsor was founded after the Norman Conquest by William the Conqueror in around 1070. The fortress was strategically placed on the banks of the River Thames to protect London from the West and also because of its proximity to the royal hunting ground, Windsor Great Park.
In addition to the castle itself, the Windsor estate includes many different royal residences. Current occupants include William and Kate, who live with their three children in Adelaide Cottage, and Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, who occupy the Royal Lodge. Previous incumbents of the estate also include Prince Harry and Meghan Markel, who called Frogmore Cottage their British base until their 'eviction' earlier in 2023.
Frogmore Cottage has been home to many royals over the centuries. Having previously been divided into five properties, the cottage was converted back into a large family home specifically for Meghan and Harry at a reported cost of $2.7 million (£2.1m) in 2019, an amount the couple have since repaid. It was also reported in Hello! magazine that Harry and Meghan allowed Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank to move in with baby August Philip Hawke Brooksbank for a period while they were 'temporarily' living in the States.
However, in the wake of Harry’s condemnatory autobiography, Spare, the renegade royal pair were officially relieved of the property in early 2023. It has been reported that King Charles is urging his brother Andrew to take up residence in the newly vacated property, but Andrew remains resistant, preferring to remain in his long-term home, the Royal Lodge, which he has spent millions on renovating out of his own pocket.
Willaim and Kate, aka the Prince and Princess of Wales, and their three children George, Charlotte and Louis, live in the Grade ll-listed Adelaide Cottage, which is a short way from St George’s Chapel on the Windsor estate. The four-bedroom property was built back in 1831 for King William IV's wife, Queen Adelaide. Far from a humble cottage, this fine house was renovated in 2015 and so needed little work before they moved in, which was important to the couple. The property is also conveniently close to Kate's parents, who live a 45-minute drive from Windsor Great Park, as well as her sister Pippa Middleton.
While the young family only moved into Adelaide Cottage in September of 2022, William and Kate have found themselves under mounting pressure to shoulder more royal responsibilities in the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s departure, which could mean a move to Windsor Castle proper – though not any time soon it would seem. With three young children enrolled in the nearby Lambrook School, the Prince and Princess are purportedly unwilling to uproot their young family for the time being. Recently it emerged that Prince William uses an electric scooter to ferry between Adelaide Cottage and the castle, a three-mile round trip in total.
The controversial 'Problem Prince' Andrew has called the Royal Lodge home for the past 21 years, located just a few miles from Windsor Castle. The 30-room mansion was formerly the residence of the Queen Mother, where the late Queen Elizabeth II spent many weekends growing up. Prince Andrew reportedly signed a 75-year lease for the Georgian property in 2003 and is said to have spent £7.5 million ($9.8m) in refurbishments, as well as putting down an initial £1 million ($1.3m) payment to secure the lease and paying a weekly rent of £250 ($327).
Of course, the royals are not the only residents of Windsor Castle and its environs. As the largest occupied castle in the world, Windsor Castle could not operate without legions of staff, many of whom are residential. These include the unofficial head of the Castle community, the Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle, the Military Knights of Windsor; the Superintendent of Windsor Castle and his staff, who are responsible for day-to-day administration.
The castle occupies 13 acres of land, with Windsor town to the west, the playing fields of Eton College to the north and Windsor Great Park to the south. Dating from the 11th century, the walls of Windsor Castle, including those around the Moat Garden, were once wooden but were replaced with stone during the reign of King Henry II, who converted the castle into a palace in the late 12th century.
Back before the castle was turned into a palace, secret passageways and escape routes were a necessity and one was included by the architects of the royal home. Leading out into the streets, the entrance to the passageway is still hidden within the castle today underneath the carpet in an unassuming office. Revealed in the BBC documentary, The Queen's Palaces, it shows the castle's colourful history.
Windsor Castle was also much used by the Tudors. Henry VIII was a regular visitor and he is even buried under the Quire in St George’s Chapel, next to his beloved wife Jane Seymour, the only wife to give him a surviving legitimate male heir. This drawing shows Windsor Castle as it looked around 20 years after Henry’s death.
Adopted by Oliver Cromwell as his headquarters during the English Civil War (from 1642-51) and doubling as a prison for captured Royalists, by the time Charles II came to the throne in 1660, Windsor was in a poor state of repair. Charles began a renovation project to turn it into a grand residence, transforming the State Apartments with wood carvings by Grinling Gibbons and painted ceilings by Antonio Verrio. This statue of Charles II was added in 1679.
King Charles II created the lavish apartments you see today, in a bid to rival his cousin King Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles. The late Queen Elizabeth II's drawing room, pictured here, now serves primarily as a picture gallery with many Old Masters paintings on display, including those by Hans Holbein the Younger and Anthony van Dyck. There are also portraits of Henry VIII and a young Elizabeth I.
As well as creating the State Apartments, Charles II was also responsible for the addition of the Long Walk and had double rows of elm trees planted the entire length of the route. This 2.64-mile path leads from Windsor Great Park into the castle.
King George III was responsible for re-igniting royal interest in Windsor Castle during his reign (1760-1820) restoring St George's Chapel and commissioning the esteemed architect James Wyatt to remodel much of the Upper Ward.
Under the reign of the famously opulent King George IV (1820-30) the Semi-State rooms and the glorious Grand Reception Room, with its gilt walls and giant chandeliers, were given a 19th-century uplift at a cost of around £700 million ($916m), in today's money.
George IV continued his father's vision and had many of the medieval towers reworked. He also had the iconic Round Tower raised into the position we see today. In 1837 Queen Victoria came to Windsor for the first time, and during her reign the castle became the main palace and a showpiece for the British Empire. It was here that Victoria hosted ambassadors and ministers from across the world.
At 13 years old, Princess Elizabeth was evacuated to Windsor Castle, along with her younger sister, Princess Margaret, for safety during the Second World War. Given her early introduction to the castle, it is perhaps unsurprising that Windsor was always the Queen's favourite place of residence. Princess Elizabeth can be seen here playing with Princess Margaret in 1940 in an office.
A devastating fire at Windsor Castle in 1992, which apparently started in St George's Chapel, caused extensive damage and led to a huge restoration project that took five years in total. Many interiors were painstakingly returned to their original design, while others were rebuilt to new designs.
Following the fire, St George's Hall was restored and its entire timbered ceiling – which features the coats of arms of every single Knight of the Garter since the order was founded in 1348 - was rebuilt, making it the largest structure of its kind constructed since the Middle Ages.
Once just a weekend retreat, Windsor became Queen Elizabeth's full-time home and office after the start of the pandemic in March 2020, and remained so until her peaceful passing at Balmoral Castle in September 2022.
The private apartments are normally kept away from prying eyes, but this rare glimpse shows the late Queen in her sitting room meeting the New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key. Squishy floral sofas, cosy lighting and plush carpet make for a welcoming space that's a world away from banqueting halls and turrets.
As well as living in Windsor Castle day-to-day as her primary residence, the late Queen also used the grand buildings for state visits. On his first foreign trip as President, Joe Biden and his wife, First Lady Dr Jill Biden, were invited to take tea with Her Majesty on Sunday 13 June 2021 after attending the G7 summit in Cornwall. Biden was the 13th US president that Queen Elizabeth had met over her 69-year reign.
The largest room in the castle, St George's Hall has been the backdrop for many a royal occasion in recent years. It was the setting for the wedding reception of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in May 2018 and also where they met with the world's press to show off baby Archie after he was born in May 2019. Meghan Markle gave birth to the couple's second child, Lilibet Diana on 4 June 2021 in Los Angeles, where the duo now live.
The Waterloo Chamber, pictured here, was often used to host lavish banquets pre-pandemic. It was commissioned by King George IV and includes portraits of the monarchs, statesmen and commanders involved in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.
Another grand room is the Green Drawing Room. A semi-state room, it sits on the east and south sides of the castle and is said to be a sunny spot. This official wedding photograph of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was taken in the beautiful space and, if you look closely, you can just make out some of the green damask wallpaper in the background.
This room, which leads on to the Crimson Drawing Room and the Green Drawing Room, is decorated with cream silk broadloom damask and is where the late Queen often received dignitaries. Elizabeth frequently arranged small engagements in the White Drawing Room, in particular, audiences for ambassadors and diplomats from around the Commonwealth.
In October 2018, not long after Meghan and Harry's nuptials, Princess Eugenie – youngest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson – married her long-time boyfriend Jack Brooksbank at St. George's Chapel. The couple then went on to have their wedding portraits taken in The White Drawing Room. The images were captured by photographer Alex Bramall at Windsor Castle and the collection also included pictures from later in the day at the private dinner at Royal Lodge.
St George’s Chapel, where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle married, as well as Princess Eugenie, is set within the castle grounds. It's home to the ancient Order of the Garter, a group of knights founded in the 14th century by King Edward III. Currently, Prince William and his father King Charles III are members.
St George's Chapel is one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in England. The interior is decorated with intricate medieval carvings and Victorian stained glass windows, as well as the unique coat of arms belonging to each of the Knights of the Garter.
In April 2021, St George's Chapel played host to the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. In accordance with his wishes, the Duke's coffin was driven from Windsor Castle to the chapel in a custom-built Land Rover Defender, before being carried up the steps by eight pallbearers from the Royal Marines. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Queen had to sit alone in the Chapel to bid farewell to her husband of 73 years.
Less than 18 months later, on 19 September 2022, St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle became the Queen’s final resting place, in accordance with her wishes. After a state funeral held at Westminster Abbey, the late Queen returned home to Windsor one final time. The funeral procession progressed from central London back to Windsor up the Long Walk, which had been strewn with flowers by the thousands who came to pay their respects. Finally, after a committal service in St George’s Chapel, the Queen was interred beside her husband, Phillip.
The chapel is the final resting place for many other famous royals, including Henry VIII and Charles I. Their burial places are marked by a plaque on the floor in the medieval quire.
Windsor Castle played a substantial role in the coronation celebrations for King Charles III, including as the location for the official Coronation Concert which was broadcast live by the BBC. Several thousand members of the public were selected by random ballot to attend the concert for free, while millions of people across the world tuned into the broadcast at home.
The concert featured performances by Katy Perry and Take That, as well as a number of choirs, including refugee choirs, NHS choirs, LGBTQ+ singing groups, deaf signing choirs, and the official ‘Coronation Choir,’ which was the subject of a new documentary exploring the stories of the people representing the many faces and voices of the country. The centrepiece of the Coronation Concert, ‘Lighting up the Nation’, featured iconic locations across the United Kingdom being lit up using projections, lasers, drone displays and illuminations.
Though steeped in the most venerable British history and stuffed full of treasure and artworks, Windsor Castle was also a cosy home in which the late Queen loved to live and work. Now, this most historic and magnificent of royal residences is embarking on a new chapter under the new King, as well as potentially becoming the new home of Prince William and family.
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