Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is (along with
Buckingham Palace in London and
Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh) one of a the principal official residences of the
British monarch, who always stays there at
Easter and during "Royal Ascot" week (in June) at the nearby
Ascot Racecourse; as well as for various weekend retreats throughout the year. It is the largest occupied castle in the world, and among the oldest.
The
castle is located in the Thames valley to the west of
London, in the
Berkshire town of
Windsor. It was originally built by
William the Conqueror to act as a line of defence for London and has since had many additions and improvements. King
Edward III made its
St. George's Chapel the home of the
Order of the Garter in 1348. Today the inhabited wing of the castle mostly dates to within the last two centuries, much of it built under George IV.
The castle's layout dates back to the medieval fortifications. The
lower ward (at the bottom of the accompanying illustration) is home to St. George's Chapel, while the
upper ward (at the top) contains the royal apartments and grand state rooms (such as St. George's Hall, whose ceiling is decorated with the coats of arms of all the knights of the garter). The two wards are separated by the
round tower, a descendant of the original motte of William the Conqueror's castle.
One of the most popular tourist attractions at Windsor Castle is
Queen Mary's Dolls' House, a 1:12 model (designed by
Edwin Lutyens) of a house suitable for a monarch in the early
20th century.
Some of the important events which have occurred at Windsor Castle:\n*the marriage of
Henry I of England and his second wife, Adeliza (
1121)\n*the birth of King
Edward III of England (
1312)\n*the marriage of
Edward, the Black Prince and
Joan of Kent (
1361)\n*the burial of King
Edward IV of England (
1483)\n*the marriage of the future King
Edward VII of the United Kingdom and
Alexandra of Denmark (
1863)\n*the marriage of
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and
Sophie Rhys-Jones (
1999)
\nDuring the
first world war, the royal family felt the need to change its dynasty name from the German "House of Saxe Coburg-Gotha"; they took their new name from the castle, becoming the "
House of Windsor."
On
November 20 1992, a significant part of the upper ward of Windsor Castle (including St. George's hall) was damaged by fire. The fire started in the Private Chapel, raged for 15 hours, and seriously damaged the northwest side of the building. An investigation found that the fire was ignited after a spotlight came into contact with a curtain over an extended period. In order to meet the £40 million repair bill several royal residences were opened up to tourists.
Related topics
\n*Palace\n*
UK topics
External links
\n* ruins in the Park of Windsor Castle(gallery set 2)\n*
Royal Residences: Windsor Castle\n*
Official Windsor site
\nCategory:Castles\nCategory:Berkshire\nCategory:Grade I listed buildings
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