What makes a county royal? Berkshire was designated England’s only royal county by Queen Elizabeth II in 1958; Windsor Castle, her favourite residence, lay within its boundaries. But Berkshire’s royal connections don’t end there.
William, Prince of Wales and his brother Harry went to school at Eton College, just over the River Thames from Windsor, and William and his family now live in a cottage in Windsor. Their father, King Charles, often played at the prestigious Guards Polo Club in his youth, and he married Camilla, now Queen, at the Windsor Guildhall in 2005. But perhaps the best example of Berkshire’s regal favour is that it gave the royal family their name: in 1917 George V changed the family’s official name from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the House of Windsor.
Any tour of Royal Berkshire should start with Windsor Castle, which has been home to kings and queens of England for almost 1,000 years. Built byfortress to a grand Gothic palace. The ornate St George’s Chapel was completed in 1528 by Henry VIII. This is where the late Queen Elizabeth was laid to rest in the Royal Vault in September 2022, memorably accompanied by a lone bagpiper.
