Windsor Castle…Welcome Baby Archie!

Portsmouth England

Baby Shower. Almost. Today, we docked in Portsmouth and drove to Windsor where Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Harry, Meghan, and baby Archie live. This trip started at 6:30 AM…first face to face immigration, a quick breakfast, and we were on the bus with our guide, Dominic. As far as weather goes, England did not let us down. We were ready for anything and got it all....drizzle, heavy rain, a bit of blue sky, and more rain. The countryside was green, except for the yellow fields of blossoming rapeseeds, used for canola oil. Too wet for the vineyards of previous ports. 

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle sits on 5,000 acres in Windsor, a small village along the Thames River. Its large parking lot was packed with tour buses. We hopped off, stopped at the “loos” (We thought England had WCs), then into the queue for the castle. We waited an extra 20-minutes before going through inspection and later found out the reason for this mild delay was that the new royal family was posing for pictures with the press in St George’s Hall, one of the staterooms we were to visit. We watched that night on BBC.


Windsor was initially built as one of a string of forts that encircled William the Conqueror’s new kingdom after his 1066 victory over Harold. The original wooden structure was replaced by stone, and bit by bit, each new king or queen added something new. Henry III was the first to turn it into a more luxurious palace, but it really took off in 1660 after the Monarchy was reestablished under Charles II who tried to make a palace that would rival Louis 14^th’s Versailles.

It is now visited by 1,000,000 tourists a year, including us. Once through the airport type inspection, we came upon the Round Castle high up on a man-made hill surrounded by moat and walls. This is the “keep” where the royal family would go if there was an impending danger. Now it is where the royal flag flies if the Queen is home. Today the flag was flying high as not only the queen was there, but she was meeting her new great-grandson Archie for the first time.

Flag's Up...the Queen is Home!

Aerial View of Windsor Castle

Albert's Chapel in St George's

After Dominic gave us a quick tour of the grounds, we turned on our audio sets and entered St. George’s Chapel to begin our self-guided tours. Besides its impressive architecture of Perpendicular Gothic style, the building was filled with art and tombs of many past rulers including Queen Elizabeth’s parents. It is also where Meghan and Harry got married.

Pictures were not allowed, so we only have one (on the right) taken inside a side room called Albert's Chapel. Our friends were given permission to take the picture because the walls were covered in mosaics with no paint that a flash could hurt.

St George's Chapel

Next we toured the public staterooms including St. George's Hall, that could hold a banquet table for 162 guests and then many other connected rooms, each one becoming a little more intimate for more favored guests. We  entered the actual sleeping chambers of Henry VIII, where he would officially go to bed, presumably later getting back up to visit female friends. In those times one of the highest honors a close nobility could have was to watch King Henry as he went to sleep and again as he arose in the morning. Another high honor was to accompany him to the toilet.

Spreading the Baby News!

After joining Dominic outside of the castle walls, we toured the quaint streets of Windsor buzzing with news anchors, and over the Thames into Eton, home of the famous boarding school.


























The “Long Walk” is a three-mile treelined road leading up to Windsor Castle and where Meghan and Harry rode as newlyweds in a horse-drawn carriage. On it today were a few local news crews.

The "Long Walk"... Three-Mile
 Path Leading To Windsor Castle

Swans on the Thames River

Walking Bridge From Windsor
 to Eton with Castle Above

The Royal Mews...Queen's Stables

Will these royal traditions of knights, castles, monarchs, parades, and royal guards continue to exist? Dominic thinks so despite its costs. Brits love the royal family, and tourism that it generates may be a plus for the British Isles.

Quail Scotch Eggs

Dinner at the Chef's Table with British Celebrity Chef

Fish and Chips and Mushy Peas

Our meal that night was with friends David, Florence, and Roger at the Chef's Table...five courses paired with wines. It was quite fitting that the celebrity chef from England prepared "Cuisine From an Island Nation" with Quail Scotch Eggs, Beer Battered fish and chips with minted pea puree', Yorkshire Pudding and Beef, and Whim-Wham...Scottish Regency trifle with raspberries, oranges and whipped cream. The icing on the cake was sailing around the beautiful Isle of Wight as we dined.

Sailing around the Isle of Wight