Windsor Castle

It’s the setting for the wedding of the year in May, but how much do you know about the history of the largest inhabited castle in the world?

- Sally Coffey

On 19 May, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will marry in St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle, following in the footsteps of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles who received a blessing here after their marriage ceremony in 2005.

Following Harry and Meghan’s wedding ceremony at midday, the newly-married couple will embark on a carriage procession through the streets of Windsor, before returning to the castle for a reception in St George’s Hall.

St George’s Chapel is a spectacular example of Perpendicular Gothic architecture and is a more intimate wedding venue than Westminster Abbey, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge married in 2011.

Though the origins of Windsor Castle go all the way back to 1070 when William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a fortress that could protect London from attack from the west (he chose the location, high on the banks of the River Thames, as it was also close to royal hunting ground), St George’s Chapel was founded in the mid 14th century, by Edward III.

King Edward III was born at Windsor (in his early years he was referred to as Edward of Windsor). Following his father’s disastrous rule, Edward set about instilling some order and transformed the military stronghold into a Gothic palace. The project cost £50,000 – the most spent on a single building by any medieval king – but it wasn’t completed until six years after Edward’s death.