Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle is, along with Buckingham Palace in London and Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, one of the principal official residences of the British monarch. Queen Elizabeth II stays there on many weekends of the year, as well as during the prestigious Royal Meeting at the nearby Ascot Racecourse. It claims the distinction of being the largest occupied castle in the world, and among the oldest.

Historical events in the castle

Some of the important events which have occurred at Windsor Castle:

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• the marriage of Henry I of England and his second wife, Adeliza (1121)
• the birth of King Edward III of England (1312)
• the marriage of Edward, the Black Prince and Joan of Kent (1361)
• the burial of King Edward IV of England (1483)
• the marriage of the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and Alexandra of Denmark (1863)
• the burial of King George VI of the United Kingdom (1952)
• the marriage of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Sophie Rhys-Jones (1999)
• the burial of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (2002)
• the death and burial of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (2002)
• the twenty-first birthday of Prince William of Wales (2003)
• the marriage of Prince Charles of Wales and Camilla Parker-Bowles (2005)

During the first world war, the royal family felt the need to change its dynasty name from the German "House of Saxe Coburg-Gotha" (though that name had rarely been used except by genealogists); they took their new name from the castle, becoming the "House of Windsor."

Related Topics:
First world war - Royal family - House of Windsor

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