~ ~ Whenever I visit the London area for any length of time, one spot in Berkshire that I always try to visit is Windsor.
There’s just something about the place that appeals to me, most likely the fact that you can almost smell and taste the history, that takes you back to another golden era when Britain was truly the leading nation in the entire world.

~ ~ The first King who was actually recorded in history as having lived at Windsor was Edward The Confessor, who left his old castle at Windsor to Westminster Abbey before he died.
William The Conqueror, realising the strategic and military importance of the site, later had the castle fortified, and the then timber fortifications were later replaced by stone by Henry 2nd and Henry 3rd, who were responsible for building the three drum towers.
Most of the old Medieval Kings lived at Windsor at some stage.
Edward 1st lived here, and it was he who gave the town its Royal Charter, while Edward 3rd totally transformed the old castle, building the great round tower, the Norman gateway, and also new Royal apartments, all of which still exist to the present day.
Edward 4th began the building of St. George’s Chapel, Henry 7th completed the nave and Henry 8th set the vault over the choir, and also built the castle gateway.
Later still, Elizabeth 1st built the north terrace and Charles 2nd restored the state apartments.

~ ~ What is truly remarkable is that despite the many different hands that had a part in the building of the Castle over the centuries, it has somehow managed to retain a very marked character all of its own.
A little known fact is that it is actually the largest inhabited castle in the entire world.
The Round Tower, which in reality is not round at all, rises above the walls to a height of 230 feet, and has the effect of dividing the Castle into two distinct parts – the upper section which contains the Royal Apartments and the lower section, which contains the deanery and cloisters, and St. George’s Chapel.

~ ~ Entrance to the State Apartments is from the North Terrace, which the public can actually visit when the Queen or a member of the Royal Family is not in residence.
In fact, the present Queen uses the Castle far more than many of her predecessors, and it has become almost a “weekend getaway” for the Royal Family, where they can relax after the many pressures of their Royal duties, and away from the ever-inquisitive eye of the media and public.
Prince Charles can often be spotted at the weekends playing his beloved polo for a local team in the adjoining Windsor Great Park.
And it was in Windsor during the 1970’s that Princess Anne fell foul of the law, in the shape of a local constable who gave her a speeding ticket despite her lofty social position!!

~ ~ There is so much to see here that it is difficult to know where to start
Apart from the magnificent State Apartments themselves, a visit to the Queen’s Dolls’ House should not be missed.
This is a present given to Queen Mary in 1924, and is perfect in every detail, a virtual “palace within a palace”.
The electric lights all work, all the doors have fully functional keys, and it has actual running water. There is even a small miniature library, with its very own collection of over 200 tiny books, that wouldn’t be out of place in “Gulliver’s Travels”.

~ ~ The walls of the Castle itself only actually enclose some thirteen acres of land, but the surrounding Windsor Great park is a vast estate of nearly 1800 acres.
Charles 2nd planted a long avenue of elm trees, appropriately called the “Long Walk”, to join the Castle and the park.
To the south east of the Castle is a smaller park called Home Park, which is filled with great oaks, some dating back as far as the time of Queen Elizabeth 1st. It was here at Frogmore that Queen Victoria most liked to spend her days at Windsor.

~ ~ Going back into the town itself there is the “Royalty and Empire Exhibition”, run by Madame Tussauds, which recreates all the pomp and pageantry of Queen Victoria’s 1897 Diamond Jubilee celebrations.