who lives in the houses in windsor castle
Windsor Castle Windsor Castle survived the tumultuous period of the English Civil War, when it was used as a military headquarters by Parliamentary forces and a prison for Charles I. At the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Charles II rebuilt much of Windsor Castle with the help of the architect Hugh May, creating a set of extravagant Baroque interiors that are still admired. After a period of neglect during the 18thÂ century, George III and George IV renovated and rebuilt Charles II's palace at colossal expense, producing the current design of the State Apartments, full of Rococo, Gothic and Baroque furnishings. Queen Victoria made a few minor changes to the castle, which became the centre for royal entertainment for much of her reign. Windsor Castle was used as a refuge by the royal family during the Luftwaffe bombing campaigns of the Second World War and survived a fire in 1992. It is a popular tourist attraction, a venue for hosting state visits, and the preferred weekend home of Elizabeth II.
1992 Windsor Castle fire It was initially feared that it would cost £60 million to restore the castle, though the final cost was £36.5 million (equivalent to £58,451,717 in 2016[11]), and that drying out the castle would take 10 years.[12] Occupied royal palaces like Windsor Castle are too valuable to insure,[7] and items in the Royal Collection are not insured against loss.[13] An independent trust for private donations towards the cost of the restoration was announced on 16 February 1993 by the Queen's bank, Coutts.[14] On 29 April 1993 it was announced that 70% of the cost would be met by charging the public for entry into the castle precincts and £8 for admission to Buckingham Palace for the next five years.[15] The Queen contributed £2 million of her own money,[16] and she agreed to start paying income tax from 1993 onwards, making her the first British monarch to do so since the 1930s.[17]