Inside Windsor Castle

2017 • Smithsonian Channel
3.0
4 reviews
TV-PG
Rating
Eligible
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Season 1 episodes (4)

1 Tragedy and Triumph
8/13/17
Season-only
The 1990s would be the toughest decade of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, marked by the worst disaster in Windsor Castle's 1,000-year history plus a series of scandals that would rock the Royal Family. Join us as we look at the 1992 fire that ripped through the castle on the day of the Queen's 45th wedding anniversary and the public backlash over who should pay for the restoration. Then see how the Queen responded to the criticism, as well as a string of family scandals and tragedies, to rebuild both the castle and the reputation of the monarchy.
2 Love and War
8/13/17
Season-only
Queen Elizabeth II's childhood years were spent at Windsor Castle hiding from the Nazi blitzkrieg and falling deeply in love. Despite the devastation England felt from World War II, these would prove to be some of the happiest days of her life. Join us as we reveal how the castle kept the queen and her sister Princess Margaret out of harm's way during WWII. Then discover how an annual Christmas pantomime at Windsor sparked a flame between Prince Philip and the future queen, leading to one of history's most enduring royal romances.
3 Happy Families
8/20/17
Season-only
After King George VI died in 1952, the keys to Windsor Castle were handed to Queen Elizabeth II, who made it a home for her growing family. But life inside the walls of the castle was often a challenge for her, alongside a husband struggling in the role of second fiddle and a mother reluctant to give up the extravagant lifestyle that left her deeply in debt. Follow life in Windsor Castle from the formal 1950s through the Swinging '60s and into the '70s, and see how Queen Elizabeth II juggled the great demands of family and job.
4 Four Divorces and a Fire
8/20/17
Season-only
In the early 1970s, all was well in Windsor Castle. Queen Elizabeth II had balanced the demands of her extraordinary job and family, and capped the year with a lavish 25th wedding anniversary celebration. But over the next 20 years, bitter divisions and domestic disasters would rock the Royal Family, resulting in four doomed marriages and their 1,000-year-old home engulfed in flames. Witness the time when Windsor became home to one of the unhappiest families in Britain, as their secrets spilled out from behind the castle walls.

About this show

Windsor: the oldest and largest continually inhabited castle in the world. For millennia, it’s been the symbol of Britain’s royal dynasties, and for decades it’s been the stage for a series of scandals, secrets, and spectacles for Queen Elizabeth II and her family. Join us as we reveal the stories that took place behind this castle’s walls, from early beginnings to today. Interviews with former castle insiders show what life was, and is, like for the world’s most famous family.

Ratings and reviews

3.0
4 reviews
deborah elliott
November 29, 2021
What a load of baloney. British imperialism, racism, bone-headed intransigence on social justice issues that Princess Diana championed, Queen Elizabeth's myopic denial of the importance of Princess Diana to the British public, but oh well, we're all happy here at Windsor Castle! That castle is extremely controversial. Trust the Smithsonian to utterly ignore the social justice that Princess Diana fought for, and pretend it was all just because she and Charles had different personalities.
Jr. Cura
March 27, 2020
Expensive :P