Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle is an official residence of The Queen and the largest occupied castle in the world. A Royal home and fortress for over 900 years, the Castle remains a working palace today. Visitors can walk around the State Apartments, extensive suites of rooms at the heart of the working palace. For part of the year visitors can also see the Semi State rooms, which are some of the most amazing rooms in the castle. They are furnished with treasures from the Royal Collection including paintings by Holbein, Rubens, Van Dyck and Lawrence, fine tapestries and porcelain, sculpture and armour.

There are lots of other attractions, including the Drawings Gallery, Queen Mary's dolls' house, and the fourteenth-century St. George's Chapel, the burial place of ten sovereigns and setting for many Royal weddings.

CHANGING THE GUARD
The regular hand-over of guards in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace draws thousands of visitors to watch the soldiers and listen to the music.

Known as Changing the Guard or Guard Mounting, the process involves a new guard exchanging duty with the old guard. The soldiers are drawn from one of the five regiments of Foot Guards in the British Army: the Scots Guards, the Irish Guards, the Welsh Guards, the Grenadier Guards and the Coldstream Guards.

The handover is accompanied by a Guards band. The music played ranges from traditional military marches to songs from the shows and even familiar pop songs.

When The Queen is in residence, there are four sentries at the front of the building. When she is away there are two. The Queen's Guard usually consists of Foot Guards in their full-dress uniform of red tunics and bearskins. If they have operational commitments, other infantry units take part instead.

Units from Commonwealth realms occasionally take turn in Guard Mounting. In May 1998, Canadian soldiers from Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry mounted guard at Buckingham Palace for the first time since the Coronation in 1953.

Household Troops have guarded the Sovereign and the Royal Palaces since 1660. Until 1689, the Sovereign lived mainly at the Palace of Whitehall and was guarded there by Household Cavalry.

In 1689, the court moved to St James's Palace, which was guarded by the Foot Guards. When Queen Victoria moved into Buckingham Palace in 1837, the Queen's Guard remained at St James's Palace, with a detachment guarding Buckingham Palace, as it still does today.

There is no Guard Mounting in very wet weather. Buckingham Palace Changing the Guard takes place at 11.30 am.January - even datesFebruary - odd datesMarch - odd datesWindsor CastleChanging the Guard takes place at 11.00am.January - odd datesFebruary - even datesMarch - even datesHorse Guards ArchDaily at 11am.Tower of LondonDaily at 11.30am.
At Buckingham Palace, Guard Mounting takes place at 11.30 am. It is held daily from April to July, and on alternate dates throughout the rest of the year.

Buckingham Palace is not the only place to see Guard Mounting. At Windsor Castle, the ceremony takes place at 11.00 am. For most of the year Guard Mounting takes place on alternate dates, but it is held daily (except Sundays) from April to July.
At Horse Guards Arch, Changing of the Guard takes place daily at 11.00 am (10.00 am on Sundays) and lasts about half an hour; it is normally held on Horse Guards Parade by the arch of Horse Guards Building.
And at the Tower of London, a Royal Guard mounts on Tower Green every day at 11.30 am. It consists of one officer, five non-commissioned officers and 15 men.

What there is to see
The magnificent State Apartments are furnished with some of the finest works of art from the Royal Collection, including paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Canaletto, Gainsborough and the famous triple portrait of Charles I by Sir Anthony van Dyck.

In 1992 fire destroyed or damaged more than 100 rooms at the Castle. By good fortune the rooms worst affected were empty at the time, and as a result, few of the Castle's artistic treasures were destroyed. The highly acclaimed restoration work, completed in 1997, is a testament to the extraordinary skills of some of the finest craftsmen in Europe.
From October to March visitors can also enjoy George IV's private apartments (the Semi-State Rooms), among the most richly decorated interiors in the Castle.

St George's Chapel is one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in England. It is the spiritual home of the Order of the Garter, the senior order of British Chivalry established in 1348 by Edward III. Within the chapel are the tombs of ten sovereigns, including Henry VIII and his third wife Jane Seymour, and Charles I.Among the highlights of a visit to Windsor is Queen Mary's Dolls' House, the most famous dolls' house in the world.

Open daily
March to October09:45-17:15 (last admission 16:00)
November to February09:45-16:15 (last admission 15:00)
The Castle is closed6 April8 April (Castle opens 13:00)20 April 22 April (Castle closes 12:00)18 June25-26 DecemberIn addition to these closures, the State Apartments are closed19 April21 April16, 17 and 19 JuneReduced admission charges apply when the State Apartments are closed. Visitors can still enjoy the extensive Castle Precincts, St George's Chapel (except on Sundays and certain other dates - please see below), Queen Mary's Dolls' House and the exhibition in the Drawings Gallery.

The Semi-State RoomsThe Semi-State Rooms are open during the winter months. They will close on 1 April 2007 and re-open to the public on 29 September 2007.St George's ChapelSt. George's Chapel is open daily but closed to visitors on Sundays as services are held throughout the day. Worshippers are welcome to attend the services. For more information please telephone 01753 865538.St George's Chapel is closed7 April (Chapel opens at 11:00)19-20 April 28 April (Chapel closes at 13:00)5 May (Chapel closes at 13:00)1 June (Chapel closes at 13:00)15-18 June 24 December.

If your planning on visiting Windsor Castle why not hop on our Romans, Royals & Ruins day tour.

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