Windsor Castle was overwhelming. The buildings and grounds were enormous and beautifully maintained, even the old moat had been converted into a beautiful rose garden. The chambers within were simply amazing. Completely lavish, yet not overstated – they were truly spaces fit for royalty. The white walls and ceiling of the Queen’s reception chamber were lined with gold filigree designs and you could easily imagine the Queen’s visitors being put in their “you-can’t-beat-being-the-Queen” place by this remarkable room.
There were rooms with painted murals on the ceilings and wall to wall, historical and meaningful, weapons. A bedroom had a bed cover in blue and green and was used when Napoleon visited as these were his state colors. Another room contained a lovely statue of Queen Victoria (and her dog) and countless spoils from the expansion of the Empire during her reign. Such as a pure gold tiger head from India, a Thai crown, and an Incan crown that was excavated during her reign. We walked through rooms filled with the Royal porcelain china collection, and cabinets filled with gold leaf plates, dishes and goblets. You could see Charles II influence, particularly after seeing the Royal Pavilion at Brighton. We saw the rooms which had been rebuilt after the fire of 1992 and the room where the Knighting (Order of the Garter) ceremonies took place. We couldn’t take photos, but you will see some of the State rooms on this website:
St George’s Chapel on the grounds held the graves of ten British monarchs: Edward IV, Henry VI, Henry VIII, Charles I, George III, George IV, William IV, Edward VII, George V and George VI. Some royal wives were buried there as well such as the Queen Mother and Lady Jane Seymour. Henry VIII, Charles I and George IV were all entombed under a plaque within the choir area. I was “this close” to Henry!
When we were leaving, we grabbed a photo with one of the guards – they must be taught strategies to stop themselves from laughing as some of the little kids having their photos taken were so funny, edging up to the big scary guards. A simply amazing place, I would have to visit Windsor a few more times before I could remember everything I had seen there!
We dropped into the “Crooked Little Teahouse” for some scones and tea before we left – and yes, it is very crooked indeed. Bloody good scones though. We jumped into the car for our last trip – into London for the next four days. This of course means no more games of “Castle, Cow, Sheep” and so I declare myself the undefeated champion. Mark was forever trying to introduce “Cabbage” but clearly, cabbage is not part of the game. Jamie spotted a blimp once and tried to add that, but that was just Mark’s bad influence rubbing off.
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