Windsor Castle to Host Charles’ Wedding
Damaged by war and repeatedly altered to suit succeeding monarchs, the 15th-century St. George’s chapel at Windsor Castle is now associated more with burials than with weddings.
Most monarchs since the reign of King George III -- who died in 1820 -- have chosen to be buried inside its walls. They include Charles’ grandparents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
The most recent royal wedding in the chapel was in 1999, when Charles’ youngest brother, Prince Edward, married Sophie Rhys-Jones.
The original chapel on the site, named for St. Edward, was remodeled by King Edward III when he founded the college of St. George at Windsor in 1348 and renamed the Chapel of St. George, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Edward.
The present chapel was built some 100 years later and completed in the reign of King Henry VII. The church became a popular destination for pilgrims who revered King Henry VI, murdered during the War of the Roses by King Edward IV. The chapel was also the final resting place for Edward’s remains.
The chapel needed extensive repairs after being damaged during the English Civil War.
In 1863 Queen Victoria, whose own funeral was held in the chapel in 1901, converted the tomb house into a memorial for her husband, Prince Albert.
King George V, grandfather of the present Queen Elizabeth II, oversaw the rebuilding of the foundation and structure of the chapel between 1920 and 1930.
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