| Welcome to Windsor Castle! Windsor Castle is located just west of London and is the largest occupied castle in the world. Windsor is an official residence of The Queen and has been a working royal residence in England for 1,000 years. Of course, being a royal residence its history is long and complicated. William the Conqueror chose the site of Windsor above the river Thames. The outer walls of the original structure are in the same position as the original ones built in 1070. In the coming centuries, countless numbers of very historic and important monarchs resided in Windsor and added all of their touches to make it what it is today. Though it is a weekend residence, every year The Queen takes up official residence of the castle for a month over Easter (March-April). Windsor is often used by The Queen to host state visits from overseas monarchs and presidents. Many royal weddings and funerals have taken place in St. Georges Chapel (part of Windsor Castle). Unfortunately, on November 20th, 1992 a massive fire erupted out of nowhere at Windsor destroying priceless valuables. Nine principal rooms and over 100 other rooms were damaged or destroyed resulting in £37 million ($59.2 million) in damage. Restoration was completed 5 years later. Aside from being a home for many people part of and working with the royal family, Windsor is unsurprisingly a major tourist attraction. Many parts of the Castle are open to the public. When The Queen is in residence, the changing of the guards provides guests with an interesting spectacle. Thank you for visiting! |
http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalResidences/Overview.aspx