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| Windsor Castle, another castle checked and the Queen's trilogy complete |
With a history spanning over one thousand years, Windsor Castle has been home to numerous monarchs, the site of several expansions, remodels and restorations and the locale of many royal weddings and burials. It also received a check on my list of castle visits and, like all other previous royal homes that we have toured, it didn't disappoint.
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| Chris outside Windsor Castle |
In the past, we've visited Kensington Palace, Hampton Court Palace, Buckingham Palace and Holyrood Palace. With the last two regal addresses added to Windsor Castle, we have also completed the tour of the three "official royal residences" of Queen Elizabeth II during her seventy-year-plus reign of England.
Windsor is the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world. A great location, it's a relatively short distance from London, and, in modern times, we found it less than a twenty-minute drive from Heathrow Airport. And, although, we know that in its long, rich history, travelers to Windsor Castle have faced many challenges to reach this destination, in our experience, we found the public parking lots to be the most feared of any obstacles.
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| Construction happening, but charm of storefronts still in plain sight. |
However, once we parked our mid-sized rental carriage in a more-than-compact parking space, we enjoyed a lovely walk through the city streets lined with charming Tudor-styled storefronts to the castle gates. Once inside the grounds, we toured the Windsor Castle staterooms as well as St. George's Chapel. The latter has hosted jubilant celebrations such as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding in 2018 as well as somber occasions, most recently Queen Elizabeth's funeral just last year.
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| Inside the gift shop, a display of Wedgwood (but there's one imposter!) |
While no pictures all allowed inside the castle or the chapel, we did snap one interior photo on the border wall of the gift shop. Alongside the souvenirs available for purchase, there are glass cases filled with Wedgwood Jasperware.
Interesting to note, that, although all in the collection were once believed to be Wedgwood, on closer inspection, one item was found to have been made by Severes, the French porcelain manufacturer. That shows just how popular this Wedgwood white-on-blue product was.
Windsor Castle has hosted a number of well-known English rulers, starting with its original builder,
William I, who lead the Norman conquest of 1066.
Over the centuries different kings and queens have changed the structure by tear down or expansion, usually to suit their own tastes and preferences. In the 1300's, Edward III, destroyed most of the royal apartments from the previous century and reconstructed the dwelling to emphasize his passion for chivalry. A man cave of epic proportions!
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| Requisite castle selfie |
When King Henry VIII ruled, almost three hundred years later, he completed St. George's Chapel and added a gate and wooden terrace. His daughter, Elizabeth I, replaced the wooden walkway with a permanent structure where she could stroll with her ladies, no matter what the weather (as one who has walked outdoors a great deal in both England and Michigan, we applaud the Queen's improvement).
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| Windsor Castle built over 1,000 years ago |
And, while Windsor Castle is known primarily as a royal resident, it was "repurposed" as a prison by the Parliamentarians in the 17th Century after the civil war. However, once Charles II was back in Charge, he restored it to a palace, reflecting the grand style of the new court.
During the Georgian period, great collections of paintings and other art pieces were acquired, most still displayed at Windsor today. George IV is also credited with bringing opulent interior design to not only Windsor, but Buckingham Palace as well.
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| Windsor Castle in Windsor, England |
It was early in the Victorian era, however, when Windsor took center stage for entertaining. Queen Victoria met her future husband, Prince Albert, at Windsor and, after their marriage, they decided to make this castle their principal home. Sadly, once Prince Albert died, Queen Victoria mourned for years and not much was done to maintain the once cheerful and lively abode until her son took over.
When Edward VII followed Queen Victoria, he set out to once again restore Windsor Castle. This time, the updates took the form of electric lights, central heating and modern bathrooms. Yes, yes, and, oh, heck yes!
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| After a visit to the Windsor Castle gift shop. |
It wasn't until George V took over, though, that the family took the name of this cherished ancestral home. And, by the time his granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth, became England's ruling monarch, Windsor Castle was already "home" to her for several years. Even before her father was king, she and her family lived at the Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate.
So, the Queen's famous "annus horbillis" of 1992, which included not only the separation of then Prince Charles and Princess Di, but also the fire which destroyed much of her longtime, well-loved home was truly devastating. Incredibly, it was restored (under budget) by 1997 and the Queen and Prince Phillip hosted a grand celebration to honor the 1,500 workers who helped put it back together.
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| St. George's Chapel |
Before we left St. George's, we walked through the King George VI Memorial Chapel. This was commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II in 1962 as a final resting place for her father. It now includes the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Prince Phillip and, as of last year, Queen Elizabeth. It's peaceful and understated, (the Queen preferred simple inlaid memorial slabs to the life-size marble effigies chosen by many previous monarchs), and a fitting reflection of this monarch's style.
Perhaps, in the future, we may see King Charles, Prince William or Prince George add their personal touch to this historic site. (We can only imagine how interesting it would be if Prince Louis has any influence on the family's choices based on his "personal brand" of style.)
Windsor Castle is, indeed, as impressive as we imagined. A collection of formidable structures with equally formidable inhabitants.
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| Public parking horibillus: bring your armor! |
Post script: Our only complaint, the public parking horibillus. A motor-car Jenga game with too many tiny spaces and aggressive drivers trying to put a round peg and in square hole. A suit of armor would not be uncalled for.
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