Today we left London for a day trip to Windsor Castle.
The castle is about 1000 years old, though the oldest part of the castle dates from the 1100s. The castle began in 1066 as a small wooden motte and bailey. In 12th century this was replaced with the famous round tower by Henry II. In the beginning the castle was purely defensive but was later used by the monarchy. In the 14th century Edward III was born here and used the castle as his primary residence. He built out and renovated the castle, creating much of the upper and middle wards. During the English civil war parliamentarians seized the castle to prevent Charles I from using it as a base to assault London. Though still a working castle, Windsor is not used as much by the modern monarchs, Elizabeth II would use it as a weekend retreat.
The tour of the castle was very interesting. We were able to see a dozen or so rooms. Many were set in different time periods. Some highlights were an immense collect of the royal family’s china, the Order of the Garter room, and the crimson drawing room. In addition we were able to see St George’s Chapel, founded in 1475 by Edward III, which holds the remains of many members of the british royal family including Elizabeth II.