We never lived in Windsor, but the town, in the Royal County of Berkshire, was one of our favourite days out when we lived by Heathrow Airport. As the American tourist said ‘Why did they build a royal castle so close to the airport?’ – old joke. Along with many tourists and local families we enjoyed all it has to offer. ‘Long Walks in the Great Park’ – From the Castle gate to the foot of the statue of King George III (The Copper Horse) The Long Walk measures 2.64 miles in length. But the Windsor Great Park extends far beyond what you can see from the castle.
Windsor also has a theatre, a swimming pool, good shopping and the River Thames. A foot bridge takes you over the river to Eton where the famous school is spread out as part of the little town. You can also take a peaceful walk along the riverside very different from the bustle on the Windsor side.
You can go by train from Waterloo and arrive at Windsor and Eton Riverside station, or take the little line built for Queen Victoria, a one stop ride from Slough station ( direct line from Paddington ) which takes you into the heart of the designer shopping centre and exits opposite the castle.
Windsor Castle | Windsor Castle Tours and Tickets
Before the terrible castle fire in 1992 more of the castle grounds were free to the public to wander. We used to take our young children for a walk and show Australian visitors around. Under the archway, past the chapel, stroll up the hill. Our two year old once dashed into the guard room and was chased out by the guards. One side of the castle faces the town, but walk downhill to the river and the castle is high above you on a steep bank. When our daughter was a toddler she nearly gave a Japanese tourist a heart attack; he gasped in horror as she raced towards the turreted wall on the steep side of the grounds. She didn’t topple over, it was a safe height. Another time we peered through a gate and saw Princess Diana bring her two little boys out to watch the soldiers parading.
When we moved away from Heathrow we still visited Windsor on mini breaks to see our friends, usually staying at The Windsor Trooper, a great little old pub with bed and breakfast; bedrooms slightly crooked with sloping floors.
‘In 1917, the name of the royal house was changed from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor because of anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom during World War I. There have been four British monarchs of the House of Windsor since then: George V, Edward VIII, George VI, and Elizabeth II.’
Windsor Castle made the perfect setting for the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, especially for the many of us who know Windsor well. The Duke apparently did not want a fuss and got his wish as the long miles of procession and crowd lined streets had to be scaled down to a ceremony within the castle precincts; a dignified walk down the hill with socially distanced military bands lined up with precision on the immaculate green.
The Band of the Grenadier Guards led the funeral procession and family members followed, Princess Anne in a long black coat and the men in morning suits. Following a coffin on foot seems dignified and respectful and it’s always good to see men smartly dressed. The Queen followed in her limousine.
I get nervous when I see The Queen walking unsteadily by herself, especially that day as she stepped out of her car and I wondered why she could not have formed a new bubble. Any other very elderly lady with strapping sons and grandsons would surely have been offered a strong arm to lean on. The Duke was her bubble, but she still has HMS Bubble, the loyal staff who have been on duty three weeks on three weeks off at the castle looking after the royal couple. Dog lovers will be glad to hear that The Queen, despite deciding a while ago not to breed or acquire any more dogs, has done what lots of people have in covid lockdown and acquired two puppies, a corgi and a dorgie, which she enjoys walking.
Inside the chapel were the regulation thirty guests and the emptiness perhaps enhanced the beautiful singing of the choir of four and the playing of the trumpeters. The royal family stuck by all the current funeral rules; we cannot compare their splendidly choregraphed event with bleak funerals at the local crem., livestreamed from one camera, but like other grieving widows The Queen sat by herself. After the service the family all strolled up the hill in the sunshine, ignoring the unnecessary fleet of cars lined up for them, though of course The Queen returned in her limousine. I like to think that once back in the royal apartments they all ripped off their masks and didn’t bother with social distancing!
Whether you watched the funeral avidly live on television and followed the highlights in the news later, or avoided all mention of it, there was more to the Duke of Edinburgh than most of us realised. The blanket comprehensive coverage of his life revealed a refugee from a broken home who saw real active service in the second world war. A life that did become privileged, but how many of us would want their whole life mapped out? Unlike lots of rich people he used his position to make a difference. He highlighted the plight of wildlife long before others were interested and created the Duke of Edinburgh Award to give ordinary teenagers the chance to take on all sorts of challenges. Those from a variety of countries who have spoken about meeting The Duke and how the award changed their lives will remember him and not the many politicians and world leaders who come and go.
Did you watch the funeral? Have you visited Windsor? Have you met any of the royal family?
Times and Tides of a Beachwriter 
I saw snippets of the funeral coverage on the news. I have only visited Windsor through your Blog today and the enjoyable posts you made in 2018. I never met any of the Royal family but my father was very excited that he got to meet Prince Philip when he visited Seattle in 1983.
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Thanks Geoff, I’m glad you enjoyed the virtual visits to Windsor and glad to hear your father got to meet the Duke.
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I’ve only visited Windsor once when I was a kid. I’m due for another visit.
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When I worked for Special Operations in the Met Police, two of us had a ‘Training Day’ (Day out) at Windsor Castle Control Room. It is situated in the old gunpowder storeroom, with remarkably thick walls. The Controller was someone we had worked with at SO16, and he showed us around ‘behind the scenes’, using a key that looked like it might have hung from the belt of Henry VIII.
He took us into the private apartments of the Queen and Prince Philip, which were remarkably ‘Spartan’. (And separate) Then we saw a lady in waiting exercising the corgis in the private grounds, and I threw a ball for one of them. (The Queen wasn’t there at the time, she was at Buckingham Palace.)
Long before that, I had been ‘presented’ to The Queen, after the Ladbroke Grove Train Crash. Even with a big hat on, she was remakably short. A uniformed Equerry instructed me to call her “Maarm as in ‘Arm’, not ‘Ma’am as in ‘Jam’.”
I just said “Hello”.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Well Pete you are a real insider! When we looked round Royal Yacht Britannia, at her retirement berth in Leith, we were surprised at the spartan separate cabins of the Queen and Duke, with single beds, so I’m not that surprised about their private apartments.
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I worked for the DPRPG. SO16/SO14 Diplomatic Protection and Royalty Protection Group. One of the few firearms branches in the Met at the time. The irony was not lost on a staunch Republican like me. 🙂
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I was privvy to a lot of ‘secret squirrel’ stuff. I worked with Anti-Terrorist branch too, as well as Special Branch, Anti-Corruption, MI5 and MI6. Happy days! 🙂
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What a lot of stories you have to not tell Pete!
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Interestingly, I never once had to sign The Official Secrets Act. They dropped the ball there, Janet! 🙂 🙂
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We stayed in Windsor whilst taking our neice and nephew to Legoland. Sadly we didn’t have time to visit the castle but I would certainly like to on a future trip. I enjoyed the Duke’s coverage but felt it was excessive the media seemed to wheel out everyone no matter how slight the connection to him. I would have rather it was covered less but more focused interviews. It was still a sad day, it hurts for any family to lose someone, I truly wish the royal family peace to grieve and more importantly happiness. Great post. KL ❤
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Thanks K. I haven’t been to Legoland! We did go when it was Windsor Safari Park, that was a long time ago!
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Hello Janet, what a lovely post. I think Prince Philip was a great man and his loss is very sad. I have not visited Windsor other than to drive through it. We had planned to stop but it was so busy on the day we passed through that there was no parking and so we drove on. My Auntie Jean, aged 91, met Prince Philip twice while she was in the WRENs. She was interviewed by BBC radio Suffolk on the day of his funeral. We all listened in and she did splendidly with the interview.
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How interesting about your Auntie Jean, Robbie!
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Yes, we were very proud. My nephew has managed to save the recording which is removed from the BBC website after 29 days.
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Thanks Robbie, yes I think Prince Phillip should go down in history and he has apparently written a good few books from intellectual and religious to carriage driving. Yes Windsor is usually busy all year round, though I’m not sure what it is like now with Covid. Well done Auntie Jean!
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I enjoyed your post, Janet. 🙂 I am an American, but my mother was British, so I have been following everything British for years! 🙂 I watched the funeral for Prince Philip on You Tube. I have a brief memory of visiting Windsor as a child, with my mother and grandmother, and watching the Changing of the Guard. I’ve always had a particular fondness for the Queen and Prince Philip, because my parents both bore a slight resemblance to both of them, and, in fact, were married in England the same year that Princess Elizabeth became Queen. I still have relatives in England I keep in touch with. I’ve never met anyone in the Royal family, but several of my relatives have. In an ever-changing, chaotic world, it was always a source of stability and calmness, to know that, no matter what, the Queen and Prince were still on the throne (as they have been my entire 61 years), and so it was very sad to hear of Prince Philip’s passing. My heart goes out to the Queen and to the British people. ❤
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Thanks for your lovely comments Anita. My mother was the same age as the Queen. Yes most of us have only known the Queen. Whatever troubles she has she has carried on calmly.
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I didn’t watch the funeral, so I appreciated your description of it.
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I have visited Windsor on a tour. The queen was not there that weekend. And walking alone, nobody giving an arm, I had to laugh. Our 100 year old aunt refuses to use any walking aids and gets indignant if we try to help. Just in the last month, she is a lot more willing to accept help. 😁
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Hello Ruth, sounds like your aunt could give the Queen a run for her money!
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possibly! 😂
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that looks like a wonderful place to visit; I’ve added it to our list for the next time we get back to London. It was also nice seeing those photos of people not wearing masks!
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Yes it certainly is, more than several blogs worth to write about!
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I like the sound of getting multiple blogs out of something 🙂
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