Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle is (along with BuckinghamPalace in London and Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh) one of a theprincipal official residences of the British monarch , who alwaysstays there at Easter and during "Royal Ascot" week (in June) at the nearby Ascot Racecourse ; as well as for various weekend retreats throughout theyear. 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 additionsand 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 castlemostly 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 accompanyingillustration) is home to St. George'sChapel , while the upper ward (at the top) contains the royal apartments and grand state rooms (such as St. George'sHall, whose ceiling is decorated with the coats of arms of all the knights of the garter). The two wards are separated by theround 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 theearly 20th century .

Some of the important events which have occurred at Windsor Castle:

• the marriage of Henry I of England and his second wife,Adeliza ( 1121 )
• the birth of King Edward III of England ( 1312 )
• the marriage of Edward, the Black Prince and Joan of Kent ( 1361 )
• the burial of King Edward IV of England ( 1483 )
• the marriage of the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Alexandra of Denmark ( 1863 )
• the marriage of Prince Edward, Earl ofWessex and Sophie Rhys-Jones ( 1999 )

During the first world war , the royal family felt the need to change its dynasty name from the German "House of SaxeCoburg-Gotha"; they took their new name from the castle, becoming the " House of Windsor ."

On November 20 , 1992 , a significantpart of the upper ward of Windsor Castle (including St. George's hall) was damaged by fire. The fire started in the PrivateChapel, raged for 15 hours, and seriously damaged the northwest side of the building. An investigation found that the fire wasignited after a spotlight came intocontact with a curtain over an extended period. In order to meet the £40 million repair bill several royal residences were openedup to tourists.

Related topics

• Palace
• UK topics

External links

• ruins in the Park of WindsorCastle(gallery set 2)
• Royal Residences: Windsor Castle
• Official Windsor site