Outside the Castle, a Statue of Queen Victoria Welcomes Guests.
At over 900 years old, Windsor castle is the oldest occupied royal residence in the kingdom. Over 150 people make their permanent residence here, to include the Queen, who spends most of her free weekends within its walls. Roughly the size of 270 tennis courts (I don't know where the audio tour came up with that factoid), there's a lot of castle to see.
At 16.50 pounds, I tried to get the most our of my admission fee, and the castle didn't disappoint. Consisting of many buildings, the most noteworthy were the State Department Rooms (particularly Saint George's Hall) and Saint George's Chapel. Unfortunately, photography wasn't allowed in the buildings, but I took notes!
The Castle Main from the entrance.
Saint George's Gate, leading to the Quadrangle.
The Exterior Wall (from the inside)
Exterior Wall with Archery Port: These walls were 4 meters thick at points armed with long archery holes to maximize range.
The Middle Tower, surrounded by a garden moat.
The Main Tower overlooking the Queen's Garden.
The State Department Rooms is the official name for the Royal Residence. Its entrance was grand and welcoming, with two life-size knights atop black horses "guarding" the entrance stairwell. On the lavished walls, literally tons of armor and hundreds of crossed rifles and swords climbed the walls of the grand vestibule.
Encased within the meeting area, a gold tiger head adorned with emerald eyes, an Ethiopian crown and a bust of Queen Victoria (one of England's most revered rulers who presided over the largest of the kingdom's expanses) were just a few of the hundreds of artifacts for visitors to feast their eyes.
The first room following the vestibule was the Waterloo Chamber. Built specifically to commemorate the victory over Napoleon at Waterloo, this grand room houses over thirty Lawrence portraits portraying those who had a role in the victory; his gem was a ten-foot piece of Pope Pious II.
Next was the King's Drawing Room. Green walls lined with portraits by Reubens and Van Dyke and a crystal and gold musical clock that plays thirteen of Handel's masterpieces furnish this large room. Afterwards, visitors were corralled into the King's Bedchamber. The king used this room ceremonially to receive guests, hold meetings and get his news.
The King's Dressing Room was another room more than it was a "dressing room." Including twelve pieces of "important" artwork, this room's ceiling was white ceiling with gold ornamentation; two royal crests and four tridents pointing from each corner of the room to the middle of the ceiling. Afterwards, was the King's "Closet," which was able to hold another 18 portraits.
Sitting next was the Queen's Drawing Room, a room larger than any of the King's bodices, it was filled with royal portraits that hung over the rich, darkwood floor. The next room was the King's Dining Room, a large wooden affair with a huge mural on ceiling and wood carvings on dark wooden walls. This room just felt rich, but also inviting.
Used for hosting more than dancing, the Queen's Ball Room was next on the tour. Including eight pieces by Anthony Van Dyke, this room felt like kids played there more than anything as each of the pieces highlighted children. One even centered around a great mastiff.
Three more rooms were dedicated to the Queen, with the last being the most impressive bestowed to her, the
Queen's Guard Chamber. The largest of her rooms, black busts of war heroes lined the doors. Representatives included Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, Churchill, and Churchill's uncle, the Duke of Marlboro. Thousands of rifles, pistols, swords and sabres hung on the walls; easily my favorite, two concentric circles of pistols.
The best room of the State Department Rooms was easily Saint George's Hall. Saint George is the patron saint of the Queen's Order of the Knights, an order founded in the 14th century. Hundreds of shields and crests filled the ceiling and walls, representing every knight of the order. Interestingly, white shields remained representing knights who discredited themselves after obtaining knighthood (I counted at least seven white shields). The hall is mostly used for banquets now. The grand room's impressive, to say the least, lined with full suits of armor, twenty ivory busts, another dozen huge portraits and even a throne from 1350.
Following the hall was the Lantern Lobby, which was the starting location of a fire in 1992 that destroyed most of Saint George's Hall and the immaculate, golden Grand Reception Room. In the former, four cabinets housed golden chalices and a large suit of armor for King Edward VIII. The latter house a huge opal chalice with gold handles as well as more gold than Fort Knox.
The final room on the tour was the Garter Throne Room. This was a huge dining room that hosts the beginning of the coronation ceremonies for new knights. Back outside, views of the towers and the quadrangle needed capturing!
The Middle Tower outside of the State Department Rooms.
The Quadrangle courtyard.
Queen Mary's Dollhouse line too long!
The second most impressive site of the tour was St George's Chapel. Built between 1475 and 1528 and located in the western end of the castle, this cathedral may be over 500 years old but has aged well, requiring very little remodeling since its inception. Inside, the Nave's columns sprout toward the ceiling with branches of curved wood that give the ceiling a unique gold, tan and white trim.
Saint George's Chapel
Toward the rear, a memorial chapel holds the tombs of King George VI (King from 1936-1952) and his Queen, Elizabeth I (1900-2002). Best known in America for The King's Speech, I'd later run into his likeness again at the Churchill War Rooms Museum and the Imperial War Museum.
In the middle of the chapel, The Choir acts as the focal point. A striking room of gold, dark mahogany, flags and banners, 32 wooden knights line the walls from above rows of pews. Representing each of the Queen's "entourage," only 24 of the knights wore crests, representing the current members of the court. Under each knight, golden crests of previous knights of the order dating back to 1390 line the walls.
In a vault directly beneath the center of The Choir lie King Henry VIII, King Charles I, and Queen Jane. Seymour. To their right, King Edward VII (1841-1910), his Queen, Alexandria (1844-1925) rest near the chapel's exit, the likenesses captured on an ivory crypt.
The last room in the chapel houses the remains of Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (1853-1884) and Prince Albert, Victor Duke of Clarence (1864-1892). I don't know if they weren't deserving of this place or their crypts to ornate, but a lady exiting near me couldn't contain her disgust as she belted out, "Seriously? Look at this nonsense!"
Outside, I got my first closeup of one of those famed guards that don't move an inch. Immediately, I was not impressed as he kept looking around, blinking and twitching his lips. He must have been at the end of his shift because he was certainly at the end of his nerves...
He did pretty well standing still for about two minutes before he got pissed at a kid who touched him and yelled,"Get Back!" while stomping his foot twice and pointing his weapon at the kid. They should put up a sign with instructions not to get too close!
You did take some good notes. I think I will put Windsor Castle on my to-do list. The white shield thing was interesting - certainly makes you wonder what went down.
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