Museums, Детальна інформація

From 1777 George III reconstructed the Queen’s Lodge to the south of the Castle. He also restored St George’s Chapel in the 1780s.At the same time a new state entrance and Gothic staircase were constructed for the

State Apartments.

As well as his work in the Castle, George III modernised Frogmore in the Home Park as a retreat for his wife, Queen Charlotte, and reclaimed some of the Great Park for agriculture. The King designed a special

Windsor uniform of blue cloth with red and gold facings, a version of which is still worn on occasions today. The King loved the Castle and its romantic associations. In 1805 he revived the formal ceremonies of installation of Knights of the Garter at Windsor.

When George IY inherited the throne, he shared his father’s romantic architectural enthusiasm for Windsor and determined to continue the Gothic transformation and the creation of convenient, comfortable and splendid new royal apartments.

In many ways Windsor Castle enjoyed its apogee in the reign of

Queen Victoria.. She spent the largest portion of every year at Windsor, and in her reign it enjoyed the position of principal palace of the British monarchy and the focus of the British Empire as well as nearly the whole of royal Europe. The Castle was visited by heads of state from all over the world and was the scene of a series of splendid state visits. On these occasions the state rooms were used for their original purpose by royal guests. The visits of King Louis Philippe in 1844 and the Emperor Napoleon

III inn 1855 were especially successful. They were invested at Windsor with the Order of the Garter in formal ceremonies, as on other occasions were

King Victor Emanuel I of Italy and the Emperor William I of Germany.

For the most of the twentieth century Windsor Castle survived as it was in the nineteenth century. The Queen and her family spend most of their private weekends at the Castle.

A distinctive feature of hospitality at Windsor Castle are the invitations to «dine and sleep» which go back to Queen Victoria’s time and encompass people prominent in many walks of life including The

Queen’s ministers. On such occasions, The Queen shows her guests a specially chosen exhibition of treasures from the Royal Collection.

THE GALLERY,THE CHINA MUSEUM

The central vaulted undercroft, originally created by James Wyatt and extended in the same style by Jeffry Wyatville to serve as the principal entrance hall to the State Apartments, was cut off when the Grand Staircase was reoriented in the reign of Queen Victoria. It has recently been redesigned and now houses a changing exhibition of works of art from the

Royal Collection, which include Old Master drawings from the world-famous

Print Room in the Royal Library.

The carved Ionic capitals of the columns survive from Hugh May’s alterations for Charles II. In cases round the walls are displayed magnificent china services from leading English and European porcelain manufacturers: Serves, Meiden, Copenhagen, Naples, Rockingham and

Worchester. These are still used for royal banquets and other important occasions.

There are some famous paintings in Windsor Castle: Van Dyke’s «Triple

Portrait of Charles I» painted to send to Bernie in Italy to enable him to sculpture a bust of the King; Colonel John St.Leger, a friend of the Prince

Regent, by Gainsborough;Vermeer’s portrait of a lady at the virginals; The five eldest children of Charles I by Van Dyke; John Singleton Copley, the

American artist, painted the three youngest daughters of George III and

Queen Charlotte:Princesses Mary, Sophia and Amelia, none of whom left legitimate descendants and The Campo SS. Giovanniie Paolo Canaletto etc.

ST GEORGE’S CHAPEL

St George’s Chapel is the spiritual home of the Prodder of the Garter,

Britain’s senior Order of Chivalry, founded by King Edward III in 1348. St

George is the patron saint of the Order.

The architecture of the Chapel ranks among the finest examples of

Perpendicular Gothic, the late medieval style of English architecture.

Unlike most of the other great churches ,St George’s Chapel has its principal or «show» front on the south , facing the Henry YIII gate and running almost the length of the Lower Ward.