Windsor Castle is a deeply important location, having borne witness to some of the biggest events in modern British history. With such deep roots in the Royal Family and historical events, who owns Windsor Castle and why is it such an important location?
Windsor Castle is owned by whoever is the reigning monarch at the time, which is currently Queen Elizabeth II. Windsor Castle is located in Berkshire, and has history dating back to the 11th century. The site was originally chosen by William the Conqueror, because it was near the river Thames meaning easy access from London and was beside a Saxon hunting ground easy access to food. Henry I lived in the castle, and his grandson Henry II later renovated it to include special royal apartments.
Henry II was also responsible for upgrading the walls of Windsor Castle from timber to stone, which took 60 years in total. But then, between and , the security situation in newly conquered England rapidly deteriorated.
A Danish army invaded the country, Anglo-Saxon rebels led by the last — albeit uncrowned — king of Anglo-Saxon England invaded from Scotland and an insurrection broke out in East Anglia.
Records suggest that there was also unrest in the Thames Valley. Determined to keep his throne, William the Conqueror ordered that three major new fortresses should be built along the Thames — in Oxford , in Wallingford and at Windsor.
Presumably for political reasons, he decided not to take back the land he had given to Ralph, But instead to rent it from him. That first Windsor Castle, built in to deter Anglo-Saxon rebels, is thought to have consisted of a multi-storey wooden keep on top of a large earthen mound flanked to its north and west by a two-and-a-half acre palisaded triangular courtyard known as a bailey or ward.
It was probably built there for three very specific reasons. Being on a hill it was easier to defend and, because the Thames was unusually narrow at that point, it could be easily bridged. Indeed, it is now thought that the very first Windsor Bridge was probably built by William the Conqueror at the same time that the castle was erected. The third reason was its proximity to an Anglo-Saxon royal palace at Old Windsor — just one-and-a-half miles away. The reconstruction of that first Windsor Castle as it would have looked in around has just been published by the Royal Collection Trust which manages most public access aspects of Windsor Castle in a major new book — Windsor Castle: A Thousand Years of a Royal Palace.
Research — carried out by Dr Steven Brindle, co-author of the book and a leading expert on Windsor — has also generated the first ever archaeologically based modern reconstructions of Windsor Castle as it looked in and in as well as in After William the Conqueror defeated the last Saxon king, he built a ring of fortifications around London.
His great keep was the Tower of London, and he also built a series of nine castles. All were less than 20 miles away from the Tower. Henry I was the first monarch to use the castle as a primary residence. Henry II built extensively at Windsor between and He constructed the stone round tower in the middle ward as well as the stone outer walls on the upper ward. Henry III built the stone walls on the lower ward as well as three new towers between and He also built one of the first royal chapels at Windsor.
He spent a great deal of time and money converting Windsor Castle from a military fortress to a residential castle. Edward IV began St. When he came to the throne in , he lavished refurbished many palaces and castles, including Windsor. He built the grand entrance and staircase at the State Apartments.
Today these apartments hold artwork from the Royal Collection, including pieces by Rembrandt, Rubens, and Canaletto.
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