We headed up with a friend, Cadua and met with two more friends at the castle itself (Bekka and Smiley). It's only about two hours from our house. Once we arrived, we parked in a large car park but had some difficulties since everything is smaller in Britain. Good thing Lee was driving and if I'm being honest, he's good at parking. We made our way up to the castle, meeting up with our other two friends.
After getting tickets, we had to go through a security check. It was just like at an airport. It seems weird but makes sense since the Queen does still live there for parts of the year. The castle is beautifully maintained. It's hard to believe that the castle is over a thousand years old!
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| Lee and Cadua |
We headed into the chapel first. It is absolutely beautiful (no pictures inside allowed). Ten British monarchs are buried at the chapel in the castle: Edward IV, Henry VI, Henry VIII, Charles I, George III, George IV, William IV, Edward VII, George V and George VI. And the best part? I am directly related to Queen Elizabeth Woodville through a kid from her first marriage. After she became widowed, she remarried King Edward IV! So guess what!? She was buried there with him! It truly was amazing to see! I got to see that she really, really lived, that she lived, breathed and is buried in a wonderful place. It was a great experience to see my family history up close.
Now, another person that I was excited to see was King Henry VIII. He had a small grave with his favorite wife, Jane Seymor. I am so intrigued with that period of history so I was just mind blown that I got to see him too!
The chapel itself is beautiful. It has amazing ceilings and the coffins with extremely intricate. Everywhere you looked, there was somebody important buried. You also had to be careful of where you stepped since there were many graves under you as well!
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| outside of chapel |
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| not too close! |
Next we headed to Queen Mary's doll house. We had to wait in line for a little bit but I thought it was worth it. This is in no way an ordinary dollhouse.It is absolutely huge! And it is insanely detailed with like miniature masterpieces, way better furniture than I have and a ton of rooms. It also has running water and working electricity! How spoiled can you get?! To say the least, it was impressive.
Straight from the doll house, we wandered into the State and Semi-State apartments. We got to see where queens and kings stayed and where they (to this day) host leaders from around the world. It was way cool to see places where our Presidents have been to meet with the English royalty.
Of course, everything was way over the top. It had gold leaf everywhere, intricately painted ceilings and ornate furniture. There was also a ton of weapons and gifts to the queen and other royalty. Like there was guns gifted from Napoleon or sword given to the Queen from India. They were super detailed and the guys really loved looking at them. Bekka and I would walk away for a few minutes, come back and all three guys are still huddled talking about a gun of some sort.
Another thing I found cool was all the china (like fancy dinnerware china). They had some from hundreds of years ago. We found one glass case that was empty and the note said that they were on loan to Buckingham Palace for a State meeting! So cool that they still use that stuff.
I cannot tell you the splendor of Windsor Castle. It has so much history that is just wonderful to see. It has been used for close to a thousand years for a reason.
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| admiring the view |
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