Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle, was the Queen's weekend house. It was said to be her favorite residence, but who knows, I thought Balmoral, in Scotland, was too. The Queen did spend much of her childhood here. Harry and Meghan were married at Windsor Castle, in St. George's Chapel. It's where the Queen and her family are buried. Prince William and his family live in a cottage on the grounds of Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest lived in castle. It's truly astonishing that 1) there are still people considered royal, and 2) they're allowed to live in these places. It's a bit mental. Old traditions die hard I guess.

In 1992, there was a massive fire, that burned for over 12 hours, and damaged 115 rooms. Amazingly, that only accounts for 1/5 of the castle. The Queen was devasted. Interestingly, only the disgraced Prince Andrew, was there when the fire started. Curious. The official story is that a spotlight set a curtain on fire.

The fire led to Buckingham Palace, to be open to the public, to help raise money for the repairs. The restoration at took 5 years, and cost almost £40 million.

All that said, I do love visiting castles. The splendor of it all is quite the site to see. It's fun to imagine being born to something like this and how people lived here in the past.

Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside the State Apartments or inside St. George's Chapel. It's a shame because my photos really serve as memories. You can get a glimpse of the interior using Google images. They also sell a small book of photos at the entrance.

One of the spectacles to see is Queen Mary's doll house. It's insane. It's 100 years old, 3 feet high, and has running water, electricity, and a working elevator because of course it does. I would have liked to see it in more detail. I didn't get a good glimpse of it because the room was packed with people, during a pandemic, and I don't have the patience. So I just took a cursory look, walking around the loop, and moved on. Learn more about the doll house here.

My favorite part of visiting Windsor Castle was the gardens.

St. George's Chapel is where the Queen and her family are buried as well as Henry VIII.

To get to Windsor Castle from Paddington station in London, take any GWR train (GWR) headed to Slough. Purchase tickets from a machine at the station or on the GWR train app. From Slough, take the next train to Windsor & Eton Central, a 10-minute train ride.

Exit the train station through a gallery of shops, and you’ll see Queen Victoria outside Windsor Castle, in front of you, across the street.