Windsor Castle   Windsor Castle, with its fairy tale turrets and towers, is the largest continually inhabited castle in the world. Since it was begun by William the Conqueror in the 11th Century to its prestigious stature as the ancestral home of Queen Elizabeth II today, Windsor has stood for nearly a millennium. Winsor originated as a motte and bailey fortification as part of a defensive program instituted by William the Conqueror after his victory in 1066. It was built on the only naturally defensive site on a ridge above the Thames Valley. The castle was used primarily for defense purposes until Henry II rebuilt the castle in stone, concurrently adding extensive expansions for Windsor's use as a State residence. The basic curtain wall and the Round Tower (as pictured at the top of this page) were also begun by Henry II. Henry III is credited with the addition of 5 circular towers added to the curtain wall. He also remodeled his predecessor's State apartments and added a new Chapel to the castle. The Medieval Reconstruction of Windsor Castle during the reign of Edward III reflects the era's ideal of Christian chivalric monarchy and this new gothic palace became the seat of the Order of the Garter. The extensive construction included the building of the College of St. George, an inner gatehouse with cylindrical towers, stone-vaulted undercrofts which supported new Royal apartments for the King and Queen, the Great Hall and the Royal Chapel. Significant alterations and improvements continued by successive monarchs throughout the Medieval period. The castle was siezed by the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War in the mid 17th Century and was used as a prison. King Charles I was buried under the Chapel of St. George following his execution at Whitehall in 1649 on the order of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector. The Interregnum lasted only 11 years and was the only disruption of the British monarchy since its institution. The Restoration of Charles II in 1660 saw the reappointing of Windsor Castle as a Royal Palace. Architect Hugh May was appointed in 1673 to supervise the outfitting of the interior of the castle with richly Baroque trimmings while leaving the blocky, castellated exterior virtually unchanged. Rounded arch windows, oak wainscoting, Grinling Gibbons virtuoso carvings and painted Italian ceilings helped to make Windsor's State Apartments the grandest in England. The early Hanoverian kings preferred Hampton Court Palace to Windsor; however, George III initiated a Gothic conversion after recovering from his first illness in 1789. For the first time, the Upper Ward State Appartments and precints were regularly open to the public. George IV continued his father's Gothic conversion of the castle's exterior under the influence of artistic adviser Sir John Long. The enhancement of the castle's silhouette was accomplished by raising the Round Tower, constructing additional towers and battlements and the making of the King George IV Gateway under the supervision of architect James Wyatt (who subsequently earned his Knighthood and changed the spelling of his surname to the medieval Wyatville.) George IV took up residence in Windsor Castle in 1828. The reign of Queen Victoria saw Windsor Castle once again the principal palace of the British monarchy. Heads of State throughout Europe (many of whom were the Queen's relations) often visited Windsor and the State Rooms were again used for their original purpose. The construction completed by George IV left the castle in excellent working order and Queen Victoria made very few alterations to Windsor. The Grand Staircase and a private Chapel (burned in 1992) were the creations of Edward Blore. The Chapel of St. George was remodelled with marble and mosaic after the death of the Queen's beloved Prince Albert on 14 December 1861.