THE HISTORY OF WINDSOR CASTLE (PART 2) – FROM CHARLES II TO CHARLES III

This week John takes Clive through Windsor Castle, a creation not just of the Middle Ages (subject of part 1 of this series) but of successive monarchs since the Restoration of Charles II in 1660.  George III, a King who had been trained in architecture, made it into a family home, before being confined here during his years of madness.  Typically, his eldest son George IV had bigger ideas, employing Jeffry Wyatt to revamp the castle after 1824.  This included a remodelling of St George’s Hall and making the Waterloo Chamber to accommodate the famous Waterloo Banquets at a table 150 metres long.  Wyatt also gave Windsor the romantic skyline we see today.  Knighted in 1828, Wyatt changed his name to the supposedly more medieval Sir Jeffry Wyatville with the King’s blessing and was finally buried in St George’s Chapel at Windsor in 1840.  For a time, he was joined by the Prince Consort who died in 1861, whose were removed to the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore 10 years later. 

Clive and John both vividly remember the Windsor Castle fire which roared through the building in 1992.  Discussing its significance they come to some possibly surprising conclusions.