Windsor Castle (England Trip Part 2)

Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to visit England. Perhaps, the dream started over a Royal Breakfast on July 29th, 1981. I was four at the time and my mom got me up before the sun to witness the royal wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. It wasn’t a fancy breakfast; English muffin toasted with butter, cottage cheese and cafe au lait (I started drinking coffee quite young). Anyway, I sat there mesmerized watching the carriages, the silk wedding dress, the flowers and all that pomp and circumstance. I don’t think I really knew what was going on, but just remember my mother saying, “Dani, this is a very historic day.” I know that wedding didn’t end happily but it started my love affair with England.

Since then, I studied abroad, met my husband, did a master’s at Bristol, married Luke, in Cornwall, and lived in Bristol and London before returning to the states. On the 29th of April 2011, we had another royal breakfast at our home. We did a proper English breakfast for our boys – sausages, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, toast, back bacon and enjoyed it in front of the TV to watch the marriage of Kate and Prince William. I said to my boys, “John and Conor, this is a very historic day.”

Top on my list for our visit to England, was a trip to Windsor Castle. If you missed part 1 of our trip to the Cornish Countryside you can read that here.

Windsor Castle I Our Trip to England Part 2 I www.findingsilverpennies.com

On our travels around England and Europe we’ve visited castles but this was our first living castle and it’s still very much in use today. A few facts about Windsor:

  • Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world.
  • It has been the family home of British kings and queens for almost 1,000 years.
  • It is an official residence of Her Majesty The Queen, whose standard flies from the Round Tower when she is in residence.

Windsor exceeded every expectation I had.

I snapped this before we went inside of Luke and the boys:

 

Windsor Castle I Our Trip to England Part 2 I www.findingsilverpennies.com

You can see just how excited we were for our visit!

Windsor Castle I Our Trip to England Part 2 I www.findingsilverpennies.com

Oh, if you go to Windsor I highly recommend the audio tour, it doesn’t cost extra, but gives you so much more information about the castle and it’s contents. Our cousin recommended it and it was super advice. The boys followed the family tour while Luke and I did the adult tour.

Queen Elizabeth was not staying at the castle when we visited so we were able to walk through the semi state rooms and the state apartments. The private residents is not open to the public and the semi state rooms are not open during certain parts of the year.

Windsor Castle I Our Trip to England Part 2 I www.findingsilverpennies.com

Windsor Castle and it’s grounds are huge. For some reason, I wasn’t expecting this. Many cars drive around the grounds and this was something else I wasn’t expecting.

Windsor Castle I Our Trip to England Part 2 I www.findingsilverpennies.com

Windsor Castle I Our Trip to England Part 2 I www.findingsilverpennies.com

John is obsessed with dragons and there were lots to see here.

Conor loved seeing the armory.

The castle is filled with the royal collection – antiques, paintings, fine china, silver not to mention all the antique furniture, tapestries and ornate details.

I couldn’t take photos inside but you can see more on the website, click here to see the different rooms and the royal collection.

Another part of the castle, I LOVED was Queen Mary’s doll house. It is the largest doll house I’ve ever seen! It was built from 1920-24 by he leading British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. It is filled with miniature versions of EVERYTHING by leading artists, designers and craftsman at the times. The doll house has electricity and running water. Even the china and silver are real! A must see.

Windsor Castle I Our Trip to England Part 2 I www.findingsilverpennies.com

The tour also goes into great detail about the fire that ravaged the castle in 1992. I can’t imagine how sad this fire was for the Queen and the royal family. Painstaking efforts have been made to the castle to restore it to it’s former glory.

Also, on the grounds of Windsor Castle is St. George’s Chapel.

Windsor Castle I Our Trip to England Part 2 I www.findingsilverpennies.com

The gothic architecture is breath-taking and when the sun hits it the stone seems to gleam in the sunshine.

Three daily services are held at the chapel and it is closed on Sundays to visitors but people can attend for worship. Within the chapel are the tombs of ten sovereigns, including Henry VIII and his third wife Jane Seymour, and Charles I. Also buried here are Queen Elizabeth’s parents and grand parents.

Windsor Castle I Our Trip to England Part 2 I www.findingsilverpennies.com

We arrived at Windsor just as it was opening and it was the perfect time to attend. The gift shops are lovely and there are few dotted around the property. I think we were there three hours total.

Windsor Castle I Our Trip to England Part 2 I www.findingsilverpennies.com

I know some of you are planning a trip to England currently so if you are, I think this is a must see.

We thoroughly enjoyed are day at Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle I Our Trip to England Part 2 I www.findingsilverpennies.com

 

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Kaycee F
Kaycee F
7 years ago

Thank you for sharing more beautiful photographs from your trip, Windsor Castle looks amazing! What an experience for you and your boys, I’m sure you made many great memories together.

Rebeca
7 years ago

Gorgeous photos! Booking our trip for June! Can’t wait! Thank you for the tips!

Debra
7 years ago

Beautiful!

Mary Vitullo
7 years ago

Thanks for sharing this, Danielle. Looks amazing. Loved your photos.

Linda @ q is for quandie

I’ve really enjoyed reading your posts about your trip. I went to Windsor about 10 years ago and I also absolutely loved that dollhouse! It’s amazing. Thanks for sharing 🙂

Julie
7 years ago

My aunt and uncle live in Old Windsor which is a village not far away and I remember when I was little being taken to see the dolls house. I’m sure we saw the rest of the castle too but the dolls house is the bit I remember! It looks like you had an amazing time.
I love your royal wedding breakfast stories too, I think you might secretly be more English than we are!

Cristina
7 years ago

The castle looks amazing. Thanks for shatin with us your beautiful trip!