WINDSOR CASTLE REMAINS THE largest castle still used as a residence. Parts date from the early Norman Conquest, when William I put up a wooden castle around 1070. Henry II built the great round tower in 1180, and Edward III made the Chapel of St George the centre of his new Order of the Garter in 1348.

Later monarchs - including Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Charles I - made various changes. The Long Walk, planted by Charles II in 1685, had 1,650 elm trees (replaced in 1945 by plane and chestnut). George IV transformed the austere medieval castle into a comfortable royal residence. Royal Lodge in the park was one of his favourite retreats.

Queen Victoria found Windsor more relaxingly rural than London's Buckingham Palace. It was also more accessible by the new railway. The young queen spent her honeymoon at Windsor, and the castle became the scene of royal family Christmas festivities. Among other alterations, new drains were installed in the 1840s though these failed to prevent the death of Prince Albert who in 1861 contracted typhoid - probably from the castle's inadequate sewers.
Security today is somewhat tighter than in Victoria's time, when people wandered freely around the park and castle. In 1849 some light-fingered visitors stole a royal sketchbook, publishing its contents for sale.

HONEYMOON SUITE
Victoria and Albert honeymooned at Windsor, driving out from London in a carriage with an escort of well-wishers. They explored the royal suite together, and Albert tried out the piano. The young queen was then stricken with a headache and collapsed on the sofa as 'My dearest, dearest, dear Albert sat on a footstool by my side'.

The castle is the resting place for many monarchs and their consorts. The memorial chapel, designed by Henry VII as a mausoleum, was restored at Victoria's wish as the Albert Memorial Chapel and is the burial place of George III, George IV and William IV.

St George's Chapel, built between 1475 and 1528, is the scene of the Garter Service held each year. In the chapel lie Henry VI, Edward IV, Henry VIII with Jane Seymour, Charles I, as well as Edward VII and George V with their consorts. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are buried in the green-domed mausoleum at Frogmore in the Home Park, while Edward VIII, later Duke of Windsor, lies in the royal cemetery adjoining the mausoleum. In 2002 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was laid to rest in the chapel alongside her husband, George VI, and the ashes of her younger daughter, Princess Margaret.

On 20 November 1992, fire broke out in the Queen's Private Chapel, spreading rapidly and gutting the Chapel, the State Dining Room and the Crimson Drawing Room. The ceilings of St George's Hall and the Grand Dining Room were also destroyed. Restoration work was completed over the next five years; most rooms were restored to their original look, but the chapel was redesigned and a new ceiling created for St George's Hall.

ESCAPE FROM THE FLAMES
The 1992 fire is commemorated in this stained-glass window, showing paintings being rescued from the flames. Fortunately, few treasures were lost.



ITALIAN-STYLE GARDEN
The formal garden, beneath the East Front of the castle, has the appearance of a sunken garden and was created for George IV.



REGAL RETREAT
Rising above the River Thames, Windsor Castle is dominated by its massive Round Tower, giving a view across twelve counties.