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Windsor Castle facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Windsor Castle postcard
Windsor Castle in 1907
Castillo de Windsor, Inglaterra, 2014-08-12, DD 14
The castle in 2014

Windsor Castle is the largest inhabited castle in the world. It is in Windsor, Berkshire, England. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom lives there for part of the year. The castle was built in the 11th century by William the Conqueror as a motte-and-bailey castle for the protection of England; it has been expanded and rebuilt many times. It was a military headquarters during the English Civil War. In 1992, there was a fire at the castle.

Windsor Castle is near the River Thames.


Images for kids

  • A schematic map, with dark green parts of the castle on a light green background, individual locations marked out in red letters.

    Plan of Windsor Castle. Key: A: The Round Tower, B: The Upper Ward, The Quadrangle, C: The State Apartments, D: Private Apartments, E: South Wing, F: Lower Ward, G: St George's Chapel, H: Horseshoe Cloister, K: King Henry VIII Gate, L: The Long Walk, M: Norman Gate, N: North Terrace, O: Edward III Tower, T: The Curfew Tower

  • A photograph of a grey Gothic quadrangle with a green grass square in the middle. On the left, a block of the building makes up the near ground. A gatehouse is in the middle of the right hand part of the quadrangle.

    The South Wing of the Upper Ward; the Official Entrance to the State Apartments is on the left.

  • A photograph of a grey Gothic building stretching across the picture; the nearest parts have windows in a white stone, the furthest parts in a yellow stone. Three soldiers in grey uniforms and black hats are marching past the building.

    The State Apartments in the Upper Ward – (l to r) Queen's Audience and Presence Chambers, the Official Entrance, St George's Hall, the Guest's Entrance

  • A photograph of a large room with a long red carpet stretching through the middle of it and windows on the right hand side. Furniture fills both sides of the room. The ceiling contains ornate plasterwork and a chandelier hangs down from the middle of the picture.

    The Crimson Drawing Room in 2007, following the 1992 fire and subsequent remodelling

  • Two designs for a ceiling, one showing a side view of structure and decoration; the bottom showing how it would appear from below. The ceiling is decorated with a network of gothic arches in gold on a blue background.

    A presentation drawing for the new Private Chapel, showing a Gothic design by Giles Downes

  • A photograph of a large Gothic chapel on the left, with tall thin windows. On the right is a line of stone buildings, pointing towards a circular tower in the middle of the picture. In the centre are two paths surrounded by grass, with a number of people walking around.

    The Lower Ward, (l to r) St George's Chapel, the Lady Chapel, the Round Tower, the lodgings of the Military Knights, and the residence of the Governor of the Military Knights

  • A close-up photograph of a building made with black timbers and red brick. The building has four tall, brick chimneys. A relatively modern drainpipe comes down the middle of the building.

    The Horseshoe Cloister, built in 1480 and reconstructed in the 19th century

  • A photograph showing the left hand side of a circular stone tower made of grey stone and with small windows.

    The Round Tower in the Middle Ward, built by Henry II and remodelled in the 19th century

  • A photograph of a castle tower, the tower is pierced by small windows and has a coned, red-tiled roof, with a clock built into one side. The sky behind the wall is pale blue.

    The Curfew Tower, part of the Lower Ward, built under Henry III and remodelled in the 19th century

  • A photograph of a stone gatehouse, with two large, circular towers on each side of the gateway dominating the picture. A stone wall stretches alongside the left hand side of the picture.

    The Norman Gate, built by Edward III and remodelled in the 19th century

  • A drawing of the front of a castle hall, with two towers at either end and a row of high windows running along with the middle. The drawing is in shades of grey.

    A reconstruction of the St George's Hall range built by Edward III: (l to r) the Spicerie Gatehouse, the chapel, the hall, the Kitchen Gatehouse

  • A photograph of a huge stone chapel, with tall stained glass windows and stone detailing. A patch of green grass can be seen in the foreground with several people walking by the door of the chapel.

    St George's Chapel, begun in 1475 by Edward IV

  • A photograph of a stone gatehouse, with angular octagonal towers and windows picked out in white stone. The weather is good, with the sky behind the gatehouse a bright blue.

    The Henry VIII gateway in the Lower Ward

  • A black and white sketch of a river scene. A river runs across the foreground of the picture, with a sail boat moving along it. In the middle ground, beyond the river, is a small town, and beyond that, on the top of a ridge, is a castle stretching across the back of the picture.

    Windsor Castle in the 1670s from across the River Thames, showing the North Terrace (left) built by Elizabeth I in the 16th century and the steep, protective ground to the north of the castle

  • A detailed engraving of a castle, seen from the air. The castle is divided in three pieces, with a domed mound in the middle, upon which is a keep. The castle and walls look stubby and short from this angle.

    A bird's-eye view of Windsor Castle in 1658, by Wenceslas Hollar, shown before Hugh May's reconstruction of the Upper Ward

  • An engraving of a castle, with four square towers running along the face of it. Numerous windows can be seen in the castle walls and towers, and a long, flat terrace runs outside the castle.

    The Upper Ward seen from the east, after Hugh May's reconstruction work. May's new East Terrace is in the foreground.

  • A painting of a terrace at sunset. On the left, the outer facing of a castle; on the right, the ground drops away sharply showing only the distant landscape. A handful of figures in 18th century dress walk or mingle along the terrace.

    The North Terrace at sunset c. 1790, by Paul Sandby

  • A painting showing a stone chapel on the left, with a timber built entrance, out of which are parading a number of white clad individuals. In the middle of the painting is a grassy area, across which are marching various red-uniformed soldiers. On the right hand side is a line of stone buildings, with a circular tower on a mound in the far distance.

    The Lower Ward in 1840, by Joseph Nash, showing the Military Knights attending chapel on a Sunday morning

  • A photograph focusing on a large wooden sculpture of a unicorn, rearing on its hind legs. Behind it part of a wall and ceiling can be seen, the latter decorated with heraldic shields.

    A unicorn, one of four Queen's Beasts carved by Ben Harms and Ray Gonzalez to replace carvings destroyed in the 1992 fire

  • A photograph of a grey stone castle, stretching alongside the left of the picture. A road makes up the centre, along which a number of people walk.

    Windsor Castle is one of Britain's major tourist attractions.

  • A photograph of a white-grey stone castle, running left to right; trees are in the foreground, with a large white tower the most prominent part of the castle in the middle of the shot.

    Windsor Castle, seen from the north; (l to r) Upper Ward, Middle Ward, Round Tower, St George's Chapel, Lower Ward and Curfew Tower

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