The Castle Lady: December 2018

For all of you who have been patiently (or impatiently?!) waiting for me to finish South England’s castles since mid-March, when I covered Buckinghamshire’s castles in one take, I thought it would be a good idea to let you know what I have been up to all this time while you’ve been waiting for an entry on Berkshire’s castles. To be honest, I’m stuck on the vastness of Windsor Castle and I’ve been enjoying a brand new tome about it since mid-year when I checked it out from the library and perused that for forty-two days! I finally decided to get my very own copy for my birthday! Everyone forgot me this year but myself, so I decided since it came down to this I’d make the gift a veritable treat!

https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/W/bo27433235.html

As it is, with all its fabulous diagrams, maps and photos (plus paintings) which I’ve been basking in like a kid in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, the information is absolutely superb. All castle lovers and Royalty Magazine subscribers should get a copy of this as soon as possible or at least by Christmas. For those who are fascinated with the history and evolution of castles, especially those which have been preserved and rebuilt authentically, this book is an essential textbook extraordinaire!

As much as I’d like to impart all the information, (which would be impossible, by the way, without rewriting the book) I’m going to give you all a Christmas gift of an entry exclusively on Windsor by Christmastime, hopefully, which will give you a true desire to get up off your couch and go visit the castle no matter where you are at, presently, on earth. How does that sound?

Prince Harry’s mid-May wedding helped the work, thus far, tremendously because I taped the entire wedding on the day from beginning to end- all five and a half hours of it!- starting at 3 a.m. Watching those long shots of Windsor Castle from great heights gave me a clear idea of true scale for a visit. Maps in the book facilitated my curious notating of areas throughout the site, to view and venture exclusive of the well-known and toured areas, inside and outside the walls. I have vowed to myself that Windsor Castle will be on the top of my list when I begin my England go-sees and site inspections. Be sure that this is not necessarily because Windsor is the castle most associated with the Royal Family but more because it is a true prototype for many English castles, as diversified as they are quite often. None can match it in size or increase but nearly all of them follow its basic pattern and layout.

I also spent a good part of the summer reading Queen Victoria’s diary from 1862 to 1882. It is a treasure trove of getting her personal notes on numerous castles of Scotland. Apparently, she and her prince consort Albert were enthusiasts of all things Scottish. This was written at a time that she had lost her husband and was carrying on without him. Her attitude throughout is solemn but not without great anecdotes and adventures. I knew of many castles she visited and/or stopped to view prior to reading the journal but there are quite a number I’d never heard of which are off the books! This will give me more impetus to dig in and start working on Scotland’s castles. Her own, Balmoral, was purchased by her in 1852 and still stands today in marvelous shape. It has been a Royal summer retreat ever since.

My six-month long interim of studying, researching and reading off line in 2018 has given me an immensely new perspective to continue my England work with a refreshed interest. It’s times like these that I am very content and feel very lucky that I became interested in castles at such a young age. The internet put wings on my favorite subject but there’s nothing quite like trying every dish and flavor on the menu and ruminating on the splendors of each one. How else does one know what is truly a favorite? Still working on that? - you bet!