Despite this being a secret trip, I managed to figure out one part of the plans. Seeing as it was my birthday I had a lay in with breakfast in bed and then got to open all my card and presents. We had to be at Windsor Castle for 1.30, so we slowly go dressed and ready before we made a slow trip there. We managed to get there a bit early but we were still allowed to get in. I have only ever been to Windsor once before and that was years ago when I was still in school. I forgot how much security there was and how long it took to get inside, luckily there wasn't that many people there at the time.
Like with most places we have been recently there have been regulations and rules due to Covid, some of the rooms were closed and there were one way systems in place. Even with this there was still enough for us to see. We made our way past the Jubilee Gardens that led up to the main gate and the Royal Apartments, I did get my camera out to take photos but due to it being a Royal residence I had to put it away once we got inside. We walked round the Round Tower and then followed the arrows through the North Terrace that took us to the public entrance for the Royal apartments. There still didn't seem to be that many people around. Because I couldn't take photos I am having to use the guidebook to help me write this, so some of the rooms might not be in the right order, I will also have to use photos from the internet.
Everything inside was a one way system and were parts were corded off so could only go the one way. The first thing we entered was the Grand Staircase, this was full of suits of armour and weapons. This then led into the Grand Vestibule, again this is full of weapons that are from all over the World. Many were given to Queen Victoria during her reign once she built up the Empire. We the entered the Waterloo Chamber, this is normally used as a dining room but at the time of going it was undergoing renovation. The paintings had been removed along with the carpet and copies put in place while the work was carried out. The next stop was the Grand Reception room, it was a nice room but way to much gold for me. The walls and ceilings were the same cream and gold, but with the added paintings, busts and red curtains it all worked together. When the light shone through the window, it made it sparkle in it's own way. At the end of this room was the Throne Room, it was corded off so could only see into it. I am a massive fan of the colour blue, so when I saw the carpet in there I wanted it. It went well wit the oak panelling on the walls and the gold trimming round the ceiling. Can imagine the Queen sat at the head of the room stating about business.
One of my favourite rooms was up next, this was St George's Hall. The last time I saw this room it was being set out for a state dinner occasion. But this time the space was being used for an exhibit about the late Duke of Edinburgh' life. I will always find this room so magnificent, because of the big windows it's so full of light and the light wooden half panelled walls go well with the white other half of the walls. I found something that I have never noticed before. Jordan asked me about the shields that are on the walls opposite the windows. They are the coats of arms of families during a monarchs reign. All are numbered but I didn't know why. It wasn't until I looked at the wooden panels around the room that I realised it all. The numbers connected to the numbers that were on the panels, each one was a name and the date in which they were granted a knighthood by the monarch. I then studied the names till I found the ones that I knew, I looked strange leaning over to look at the names. At the end of this room is the Lantern Lobby, it currently contains more of the exhibit of the Duke and is a one way system. This room is beautiful, the light floods in from the roof and when it hits the gold it adds shine and light to the room.
The next room as the Queen's Guard Chamber, like the first two rooms there was weapons but this time mostly guns and the odd suit of armour. In this room there is a bust of Horatio Nelson as well as the musket ball that killed him at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. We then went into the Queen's Presence Chamber, I can't remember much about this room except for the painted ceiling which was breathtaking. Up next was the Queen's Audience Chamber, it was while in this room that we saw the changing of the guard which was amazing. The wooden panels on the walls went well with the ceiling painting and the gold around the room. Another room that I liked was the Queen's Ballroom, the blue and silver on the walls made it so light add in the white and silver ceiling it went so well. As walk around the room can imagine it being used for the purpose the it was built for.
My second favourite room was next, The Queen's Drawing Room. The red walls, white ceiling and wooden floor contributed each other and worked so well. But it was the painting that made it for me as I was among those faces that I knew so well. I walked round the room and looking back at me was Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I. Then of course my all time role model Elizabeth I, it was the portrait that she had done for her father when she was 13 years old. It's one of my favourite ever done of her, I stood for about 10 minutes looking up at her. There was also paintings by an artist that I have seen so much of recently by Hans Holbein. The last room that we went into the the King's Dining Room, the room was so dark. I know that I love oak panels, but this was to much even for me.
Once we had finished in the castle we went into the gift shop. I collect teddy bears that have the name of the place on them, so I had to get one of them to go with my Jack the Ripper bear. I obviously picked up a guide book and may have got a toy corgi, which is now making me want a real one. We then walked the short distance to St George's Chapel. I love this chapel as are so many King's and Queen's buried within it. Once entered I was on a hunt to see who I could find, just wish I could have taken photos. Jordan wanted to know where Henry VIII was buried, he was disappointed when I showed him a slab in the floor. I found the tomb of another of my role models, Elizabeth Woodville, I stood beside her for a few minutes. Because of this I am reading a book about Royal burials in England, so a book review will be coming soon.
I had been meaning to go back to Windsor for so years, so I really enjoyed this trip. Might have to go back once the covid restrictions are lifted as more will be open and I can add to this blog. Even though there isn't much of my history at the castle there is still so much history within the walls. It's fascinating and nice to step out of my time period for a while and to dive into one that I don't really know as I learn so much. For me the only thing that let it down was not being able to take photos, but I understand that it is still a Royal Residence of the Queen.
The History
Work on the castle started around 1070 under the instruction of William the Conquer. Work was eventually finished 16 years later. It was part of a chain of fortifications that had been built in London and is one on a naturally defensive site. It is the only one that survived to this day. Unlike most Norman castles, Windsor has two baileys which are at either sides of the motte. It was built to keep the western part of London secure with easy access to the capital and the local hunting forests. This made it an ideal Royal residence. Henry I had his own apartments at the castle from 1110 while Henry II had two sets of apartments built. He also made improvements to the outer fortifications by replacing the wood with stone. The keep was rebuilt as what is now known as the Round Tower in 1170. Over the following years the castle was improved and built on to by other monarchs.
Edward III spent £50,000 on transforming Windsor from a military fortified castle into a gothic palace. He started by adding new building for the college of St George in 1348. Having been built a 100 years before by Henry II, it was Edward who joined the Chapel and college together. More work was carried out in 1357 under the eyes of William of Wykeham. Gate houses and the Royal Apartments were built and took the castle to a new level of architecture. It was at this time that what is now the quadrangle was used as the tilt yard and many tournaments took on the site of the years. The apartments that were built in the fourteenth century survived till the seventeenth century. Edward IV began work on the new St George's Chapel to the west of the one that William II had built. When Henry VIII took to the throne, he had part of the chapel rebuilt and extended the west side of the state apartments in 1500.
In 1522, Henry was residing at Windsor when he received the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, when he was finishing off the alliance with France. The biggest contributions that Henry added was the gates at the bottom of the Lower Ward and the terrace on the north side if the Upper Ward. First made in wood, Henry would often stand on the terrace and watch the hunt taking place in the park below. He would also practise his shooting while up there. Elsewhere he had his fathers tennis court refurbished that was at the foot of the motte. Henry was buried in the chapel next to his third wife Jane Seymour. When his son Edward VI took to the throne, he hated Windsor as he felt he was
in some kind of prison. His sister Mary I had the houses in the Lower Ward refurbished. When Elizabeth I came to the throne much of Windsor was in need of work, the extensive work was undertaken in 1570. Henry VIII terrace was renewed, the chapel remodelled with stalls. Elizabeth also added a long gallery that was over looking the North Terrace built by her grandfather.
During the Civil War in 1642, many castles were commandeered by the Parliamentarians, but some care was taken when it came to Windsor. The treasury of the chapel was ransacked and some of its monuments were desecrated. Prince Rupert of the Rhine, tried to recapture the castle but was unsuccessful. During the war, Windsor was often used by Oliver Cromwell as his headquarters and a prison for Royalist officers. When Charles I went back it was as a prisoner and his last Christmas as he was executed no long after. His body was then brought back to Windsor and was laid to rest in the chapel next to Henry VIII. Once the monarchy was restored the castle slowly regained its old life. Prince Rupert was made Constable of the Castle, he set out a new programme of repairs and decoration. Charles II wanted to reinstate Windsor as his principle palace after all his father was buried there. Hugh May was appointed to supervise the modernisation of the royal apartments so that they became the grandest baroque state apartments in England.
Each room was decorated with the best art, fabrics and furniture that the world had to offer. It was made into a palace fit for a King and Queen. Charles II was a massive fan of Windsor, in the summer and autumn he would spend his time hunting. He also wanted to out do his cousin Louis XIV of France and his creation of Versailles and the Louvre. Because of this he had the Long Walk created in 1860 with an avenue of elm trees. Most of what Charles built remained untouched till the eighteenth century. The next line of monarchs didn't really do much to the castle. William III spent more time dealing with Hampton Court and Kensington Palace. Queen Anne had a small house to the south of the castle while she mostly stayed in the modern State apartments of Charles II, but the small house remained her favourite. It was under the hands of George III that Windsor became an important and well known place. At the start he made few changes but the castle be his official residence. In 1781, apartments within the Upper Ward were renovated for George, Prince of Wales while the rest of the family slowly moved into the rest of the castle. From then on much of the castle was redecorated or renovated for the new family, as well as saw the start of a Gothic transformation.
George VI carried on that Gothic transformation, while trying to make it a comfortable place to live. He even set up the work to have the exterior of the castle made to look like a imposing castle again. Everything was given a grand new look and given improvements, new rooms were even added and decorated in the grandest way. George VI eventually moved into the castle in 1828, it cost him roughly £300,000 to have all the renovations done. Sadly he died just 2 months later, so he didn't get to see the final project. The work was carried out after he died but on a much smaller budget. During the reign of Victoria, the castle had a new lease of life. It was used as a rural escape from London while the surrounding settings were ideal for Prince Albert's interests. It was his idea to have certain rooms renovated or built. Each year, Victoria spent most of her time there and it became the ideal family home for entertainment and gatherings, as well as dealing with state business. It was the focus during the rise of the British Empire and was her idea that the state apartments be opened to the public from 1840.
Edward VII hated how cluttered the castle had become during the last few years of his mothers reign, so much so that he reorganised and made it a lot simpler. He also had many of the private apartments modernised, while he extended the lighting system and added central heating. Much of the suits of armour was remounted in the Guard Chamber and St George's Hall. George V carried on the work that Edward was planning, while Queen Mary set about preserving Windsor and it's collections. When the Second World War broke out, King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth stayed at Buckingham Palace, while their daughters Elizabeth and Margaret stayed at Windsor. Every Christmas the girls would perform a pantomime in the Waterloo Chamber.
Because of the bombings during the war, Windsor was left somewhat untouched. Although 50 years later a fire broke out in the private chapel of Queen Victoria. It spread quickly and destroyed the roof of St George's Hall and the Grand Reception Room. The fire completely destroyed the private chapel, Sate Dining Room, Crimson Drawing Room as well as other rooms that were close by. It took 15 hours for the fire to be restricted to the north-east corner of the castle. Once the fire was out, work started straight away to repair and renovate what had been destroyed. The late Duke of Edinburgh lead the way and sat on the Art and Design committee. The renovation work was done in the Gothic style while also trying to keep with the original design of the castle. Work was completed in 1997, five years after the fire took place and cost £37 million. Much of the cost was brought in from sale of tickets to the castle precincts and Buckingham Palace. Maintenance of the Castle will never end, but this has allowed historians to know more about the life of Windsor castle.
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