sons of Edward I. were born at Windsor, and, though the King himself rarely visited the Castle, Queen Eleanor seems often to have resided here.
In 1312 was born at Windsor one who was to do much for the castle, Edward III. During all his long reign Windsor was the scene of many displays of pomp and vanity, of tournaments, feasts, processions, besides councils, chapters, and great assemblies. The Upper Ward was entirely rebuilt, William of Wykeham – from whom the Winchester Tower derived its name – being the architect. It is said that the words "Hoc fecit Wykeham" were placed upon it, and that the wily prelate translated them to Edward as meaning, not "Wykeham made this," but "This made Wykeham."
Another story is told which points to the want of refined manners and delicate feeling of the Middle Ages. King Edward was conducting his royal prisoners, King John of France and King David of Scotland, round the Lower Ward, when one of them pointed out that the Upper Ward lay on higher ground and commanded a finer view. The King "approved their sayings, adding pleasantly that it should so be, and that he would bring his castle thither, that is to say, enlarge it so far with two other wards, the charges whereof should be borne with their two ransoms," as afterwards happened. The story of King Arthur and the Round Table fired Edward with the idea of founding the institution of the Garter, and carpenters and masons were soon busy erecting the Round Tower for the Round Table. The table, made of fifty-two oaks, seems to have been in the shape of a horse shoe rather than a perfect circle, so that the attendants could stand in the middle to serve the guests. In this tower assembled the flower of English knighthood – Warwick, celebrated in the French wars, who, when he died of the plague in 1369, left "not behind him his equal;" the young Earl of Salisbury, whose beautiful mother is said to have given rise to the motto of the Order, "Honi soit qui mal y pense;" and many others besides, whose names are well known for their prowess and valour.
It was at Windsor that good Queen Philippa passed away, universally lamented. Froissart touchingly describes her death: – "There fell in England a heavy case and common, howbeit it was right piteous for the King, his children, and all the realm. For the good Queen of England, that so many good deeds had done in her time, and so many knights succoured, and ladies and damsels comforted, and had so largely departed of her goods to her people, and naturally loved always the nation of Hainault, the country where she was born; she fell sick in the Castle of Windsor, the which sickness continued on her so long that there was no remedy but death. And the good lady, when she knew and perceived that there was with her no remedy but death, she desired to speak with the King, her husband. And when he was before her she put out of her bed her right hand, and took the King by his right hand, who was right sorrowful at heart. Then she said, 'Sir, we have in peace, joy, and great prosperity used all our time together. Sir, now I pray you, at our departing, that ye will grant me three desires.'" Her requests related to her debts, her promises to churches, and to her husband's "sepulture when so ever it shall please God to call you out of this transitory life," beside her in Westminster. "Then the good lady and Queen made on her the sign of the cross, and recommended the King, her husband, to God, and her youngest son, Thomas, who was beside her. And anon after, she yielded up the spirit, the which I believe surely the holy angels received with great joy up to heaven, for in all her life she did neither in thought or deed thing whereby to lese her soul, as far as any creature could know."
Many important scenes in Richard II.'s life are laid in Windsor Castle. Two deputations waited upon him here with a list of their grievances. In 1390 he appointed Geoffrey Chaucer, the poet, to superintend repairs in the chapel. The great dispute between Henry Bolingbroke, the last Knight of the Garter admitted by Edward III., and the Duke of Norfolk, took place at Windsor Castle, where, in the courtyard, King Richard sat on a platform, and gave judgment between the two, sentencing Bolingbroke to ten years' exile, and banishing Norfolk for life. It was at Windsor that Richard bade a last farewell to his child-queen, Isabella of France, then eleven years of age. The scene is touchingly described by a contemporary chronicler, who states that the King and Queen walked hand in hand from the Castle to the Lower Court, and entered the Deanery, passing thence into the chapel. After chanting a collect, Richard took his Queen into his arms, and kissing her twelve or thirteen times, said sorrowfully: – "Adieu, ma chère, until we meet again; I commend me to you." Then the Queen began to weep, saying to the King: – "Alas! my lord, will you leave me here?" The royal pair then partook of comfits and wine in the Deanery, the King kissing his Queen many times and lifting her in his arms. "And by our lady, I never saw so great a lord," continues the chronicler, "make so much of nor show such great affection to a lady as did King Richard to his Queen. Great pity was it that they separated, for never saw they each other more."
After Richard's deposition and death, Isabella was detained by Henry IV., who would have married her to his madcap son, Prince Hal. Eventually, however, she married the Duc d'Orleans, this time choosing a husband much younger than herself.
A conspiracy against Henry IV. came to a head at Windsor, when the Duke of Exeter seized and searched the castle. Henry, however, had had timely warning, and had fled. "He rode to London and made him strong to ride on his enemies," and crushed the rebellion. The Castle during this reign held two unfortunate young prisoners, the Earl of March, whose only fault was his descent from an elder son of Edward III., Henry himself being descended from a younger branch; the other was one of the most unfortunate of the hapless house of Stuart, James Stuart. The king, his father, had sent him to France to complete his education. Henry, however, fearful of an alliance between France and Scotland, seized the Prince's vessel, and sent James to Windsor, declaring jocularly that England possessed good French teachers. Henry kept his word, and the young prince received a good education. He seems in every respect to have been treated as suited his rank, and was allowed plenty of freedom, sharing in all the festivities of the court. From his tower window he beheld and fell in love with the fair Joanna Beaufort, the king's niece, whom he eventually married. His return to Scotland marked the beginning of a sad and gloomy reign, and he was assassinated by his unruly nobles in 1437, to whom he had made himself odious by trying to curb their power.
In 1416, the Emperor Sigismund was present at the feast of St. George, bringing as an offering the heart of St. George, which remained in the chapel till the Reformation.
Whilst Henry V. was besieging Meaux he heard of the birth of his son. "But when he heard reported the places of his nativity, were it that he, warned by some prophesie, or had some fore-knowledge, or else judged himself of his son's fortune, he said unto the Lord Fitz Hugh, his trusty chamberlain, these words, 'My lord, I, Henry, born at Monmouth, shall small time reign and much get, and Henry, born at Windsor, shall long reign and all lose; but as God will, so be it.'" Although this unfortunate Henry of Windsor spent all his early years at his birthplace, the Castle fell into a very neglected condition. On his marriage with Margaret of Anjou, some necessary repairs were made for her reception, and during his illness, in 1453, Henry lived here.
Edward IV. was the first monarch interred at Windsor, where his little daughter Mary and his son George of Clarence, supposed to have been drowned in a cask of wine, had been buried before him. In 1484, the remains of Henry VI. were removed from Chertsey Abbey, and interred beside those of his rival. In 1789 some workmen came across the lead coffin of Edward IV. On opening it the entire skeleton was found, measuring 6 feet 3½ inches in length. A lock of brown hair taken from the coffin is in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. A bone of the leg was publicly sold by auction with the museum of a private collector a few years ago. It was understood at the time that the dishonoured relic was taken back to Windsor.
The poet Earl of Surrey was much at Windsor in his early life, and was imprisoned there in 1546. In one of his poems he gives a description of the large green courts, the stately seats, the secret groves, the wild forests, and other delights of the place. He was beheaded in 1547 for denying the king's supremacy in the church.
Queen Jane Seymour was buried at Windsor Castle with much pomp, a life-sized figure of the deceased was upon the pall, with a rich crown of gold upon her head, the hair all loose, a sceptre of gold in her right hand, and adorned with finger-rings and a necklace of gold and precious stones. In his will, Henry VIII. commanded that his body should be laid beside that of his "true and loving wife, Queen Jane."
Queen Elizabeth was very fond of Windsor Castle, and sometimes remained all the autumn and over Christmas. Between 1569 and 1577, more than £1000 a year was spent on improvements, which,