Windsor Castle United Kingdom

Legendary

This iconic castle is home to the Queen of England.

Kid Rating:

The British royal family took its name from this castle. During World War I, the family was called Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a German name, and Britain was at war with Germany.

So in 1917, King George V changed it to Windsor, after the castle. The royal family has been the House of Windsor ever since.

Windsor Castle stands on a chalk hill above the River Thames, west of London. It's the oldest and largest castle in the world that people still live in.

William the Conqueror started it around 1070, a few years after he took the English throne. His first castle was made of earth and timber, built to guard the western road into London.

Later kings rebuilt it in stone and kept adding to it. Edward III, who was born at Windsor in 1312, turned it into a grand palace.

Around 1348, Edward created the Order of the Garter, the most important group of knights in England. Only 24 knights could belong at a time, and Windsor became their home.

St George's Chapel was built for the Order, starting in 1475. It took decades to finish, and kings and queens including Henry VIII, Charles I, and Queen Elizabeth II are buried there.

In the 1800s, Queen Victoria made Windsor her main home. She and her husband, Prince Albert, loved the castle, and in 1845 she let the public visit its grand state rooms for the first time.

Albert died at Windsor in 1861. Victoria turned a small chapel there into a memorial to him, filled with gold mosaics from Venice.

On November 20, 1992, a spotlight set a curtain on fire in a chapel inside the castle. The fire burned for 15 hours and damaged more than 100 rooms.

Repairs took five years. The castle was fully restored by 1997.

Today Windsor is one of the official homes of King Charles III, used for state banquets and royal weddings. When the King is there, his flag flies from the top of the Round Tower.

Walk through the State Apartments to see paintings by famous artists like Rembrandt and the great banquet room, St George's Hall. Don't miss Queen Mary's Dolls' House, a giant miniature mansion built in the 1920s with tiny working lights, running water, and even little books. Time your visit for the Changing of the Guard, held on selected mornings.

Sources: World History Encyclopedia, History Hit, and Lonely Planet.