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Today I’ll share with you 58 fascinating facts about Windsor Castle, some of which you may find surprising! As you probably know, Windsor Castle is one of the most famous castles on Earth, not only because of its unique and advanced for its time architecture but also due to the significant historical figures who lived in it.
Windsor Castle
… is by far the longest-occupied palace in Europe
… is located in the country of Berkshire, England
… was built on a small hill of river Thames
… is the largest inhabited castle in the World
… was home to 40 monarchs, including Her Majesty the Queen
… is one of the most visited attractions of England and welcomes more than a million tourists each year
… its name comes from Old English (*windless-ore*) and means “winch by the riverside”
… its St George’s Chapel is the spiritual home of the Order of the Knights of the Garter
… the St George’s Chapel dates from the late 15th and early 16thcentury and has Gothic style
… is where 10 Kings are buried in St George’s Chapel, one of them is Charles I and Henry VIII
… has a 4.25 km approach road called “The Long Walk”
… it covers 52,609 m² of ground and has about 1000 rooms
… employs more than 500 people who live and work for the Queen
… its “Home Park” was mentioned in Shakespeare’s “Merry Wives of Windsor”
… its “Home Park” has also some of the oldest broad-leaved woodlands in Europe
… is the Mother Church to English chivalry
… is guarded by a detachment of Guards in traditional red tunics and bearskin hats
… the “Changing of the Guard” can be seen at 11 am every day in April, May, June and July
… the Guards are real, active soldiers and not performers as many of the tourists would guess
… the Royal Family had the dynastic German name of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha until the WW1
… has inspired King George V to change the Royal Family name to Windsor in on 17 July 1917
… when the German Emperor Wilhelm II heard the news he wanted to visit the “Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha”
… Queen Mary‘s Dollhouse (my favorite part of the castle) was built between 1921 and 1924
… the Dollhouse is one of the largest dollhouses in the world and a perfect miniature of an aristocratic home (1:12)
… the Dollhouse features a library with original tiny books contributed by famous writers, a fully stocked wine cellar with real wine, running hot and cold water in the bathroom, a garden created by Gertrude Jekyll, electricity and working lifts. All watches are made by Cartier and the cars – by Rolls-Royce, including the Silver Ghost.
… is the favorite home and residence of Her Majesty The Queen
… you can tell if when Her Majesty The Queen is at home if the Union Flag flies above the castle
… Her Majesty The Queen rides her pony every morning
… Although the Queen has no driving licence she is a fan of driving and does so as much as possible
… She also keeps her green Jaguar at the Windsor Castle Mews
… has the oldest working kitchen in England which has served 32 monarchs, incl. the Queen
… each part of Queen’s butter is individually hand rolled and stamped with a royal crown
History of Windsor Castle
… was built during the 11th century (1066) as a simple castle created predominately from wood after the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror who defeated the Saxon King of Britain
… Henry I was the first King who used Windsor Castle as a home and called it the Royal House for the English crown
… Henry I started a major reconstruction of the castle and the wooden walls were replaced with stone (1068 – 1135)
… Henry II built the stone curtain wall around the castle and the stone Round Tower (12th century)
… Henry III upgraded the castle into a luxurious palace
… Henry III founded the fellowship of knights called “Order of the Garter” (1348)
… Edward III was born in Windsor Castle in 1312
… Edward III transformed Windsor Castle to one of the most expensive secular buildings of the European Middle Ages (1350 to 1370)
… the reconstruction was payed thanks to his military victories in France at Crecy, Poitiers and Calais
… Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I made Windsor castle the centre of the British crown
… Henry VIII relished the Windsor Castle as a royal playground for shooting, dancing wrestling and songwriting
… Henry VIII was buried in the Windsor Castle’s Lady Chapel.
… Windsor Castle was the favorite residence of Elizabeth I
… Elizabeth I spent more money on Windsor Castle than any of her other Royal Properties
… During the English Civil War, Charles I used the Windsor castle as a prison and a military headquarters for Parliamentary forces (1642–1651)
… Charles II redesigned the Windsor Castle in an extravagant baroque style (1660)
… George III and George IV rebuilt the palace to its current design– a combination of Rococo, Gothic and Baroque
… Queen Victoria and Prince Albert made Windsor Castle their main residence
… Queen Victoria called Windsor Castle her home for a very long time and it even became the center for royal entertainment for much of her reign.
… she even became known as the “Widow of Windsor“
… during WW2 Windsor Castle was used as home to the royal family and this was a well-kept secret
… during WW2 all windows of the castle were blacked out and the royal bedrooms were strengthened in case of bombing
… in 1992 the castle was destroyed by massive fire and over 100 rooms were damaged
… the castle was rebuilt and the cost of restoration was nearly £40 million
… the solid price was paid by the government of England and in exchange, they opened Buckingham Palace in London to the public
… Prince Charles married Camilla Parker-Bowles in St George’s Chapel in 2005
Enjoy the day!