Windsor Castle has served as a royal residence for 39 monarchs across 950 years, longer than any other occupied palace in Europe.
William the Conqueror raised the first motte on this chalk escarpment overlooking the Thames in 1070, a day's march from the Tower of London, and every sovereign since has left architectural evidence of their tenure. The Round Tower's profile, rebuilt by Henry II in stone and heightened by George IV, commands thirteen counties from its summit.
The State Apartments occupy the upper ward's eastern range, their ceilings painted by Antonio Verrio for Charles II and their walls hung with Canaletto, Rembrandt, and Rubens from the Royal Collection. St George's Chapel, a pinnacle of Perpendicular Gothic begun in 1475, holds the tombs of ten sovereigns including Henry VIII and Charles I, and serves as the spiritual home of the Order of the Garter, England's oldest order of chivalry founded in 1348. The chapel's fan vaulting spans fifteen bays without a single supporting pillar. Queen Mary's Dolls' House, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in 1924 at one-twelfth scale, contains working elevators, running water, and a wine cellar stocked with authentic vintage labels, a monument to interwar British craftsmanship executed by 1,500 artisans.
Windsor remains a working administrative headquarters of the monarchy; the Royal Standard flies when the sovereign is in residence, typically during March, April, June, and over Easter and Ascot weeks. The castle's 5.26 hectares enclose not only ceremonial spaces but offices, private apartments, and St George's School. Windsor Castle tour tickets grant access to the State Apartments when they are not required for official functions, the chapel, and the precincts, though routes shift when the Court is present. Advance reservation is standard practice; walk-up capacity is limited and queues form before the 10:00 opening, particularly in spring and summer. Entry includes a multimedia guide narrated by historians and members of the Royal Household, detailing the lineage of the furnishings and the constitutional role the castle has played from Magna Carta councils to modern investitures. The Lower Ward's military quarters and the private royal apartments on the east and south terraces remain closed to ticket holders, preserving the functional character of a residence that has never ceased operation since the Norman Conquest.
3 hr
