Windsor Castle was founded by William the Conqueror in the late eleventh century as part of a ring of fortifications controlling approaches to London. Its position above the Thames and near royal hunting land made it strategically and recreationally valuable. The first castle consisted largely of timber defenses organized around a central motte with lower wards on either side. Henry I used Windsor as a residence, and later rulers replaced wood with stone, transforming a frontier-style fortress into one of the principal seats of English monarchy.

Henry II rebuilt extensively in the twelfth century, creating stone walls, towers, and royal apartments. Henry III added luxurious residential and religious buildings, while Edward III undertook the decisive medieval transformation after 1344. He rebuilt the upper ward for court life, established the Order of the Garter in 1348, and made Saint George’s Chapel its spiritual home. The present chapel, begun under Edward IV in 1475 and completed under later Tudors, became a masterpiece of Perpendicular Gothic architecture and a burial place for monarchs.

Windsor combined defense, residence, worship, government, and spectacle. Henry VIII enlarged ceremonial use, Elizabeth I improved defenses and created a long terrace, and Charles II remodeled state apartments after the Restoration in a Baroque manner. During the English Civil War, Parliament held the castle and imprisoned Charles I there before his execution; he was buried in Saint George’s Chapel. The castle’s continued use meant that every period altered earlier work rather than preserving a single medieval state.

George IV commissioned the most dramatic modern remodeling in the 1820s. Architect Jeffry Wyatville raised towers, reshaped the skyline, created grand state rooms, and turned the castle into the romantic Gothic composition familiar today. Queen Victoria used Windsor extensively for family and state life, especially after Prince Albert’s death. Later monarchs modernized services and opened parts to visitors. During the Second World War, the future Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret spent much of the conflict at Windsor, while treasures were protected and windows blacked out.

A fire on November 20, 1992, burned for hours and damaged more than one hundred rooms, including Saint George’s Hall and the private chapel. The five-year restoration combined faithful repair, recovered materials, and new design where evidence was insufficient, funded substantially by visitor income and the opening of Buckingham Palace’s state rooms. Windsor remains an occupied royal residence and the ceremonial home of the Order of the Garter. Its exceptional continuity is visible in the fabric: Norman earthworks, medieval chapel and walls, Georgian state apartments, modern restoration, and present-day royal use coexist within one evolving complex.