Everything we know about the 1992 Windsor Castle fire and the devastating effect it had on Queen Elizabeth
It was a horrific day for the royal familyIn 1992 a shocking fire ravaged through Windsor Castle and left a devastating impact on Queen Elizabeth II.
33 years ago today (November 20) Windsor Castle was engulfed in flames when a fire broke out in Queen Victoria’s private Chapel room. It was on the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s wedding.
Heartbreakingly, the blaze spread throughout the castle and even damaged the surrounding area, including St George’s Hall. In the aftermath, Windsor Castle – which has had a few security scares over the years – had to be completely restored. And it left a lasting impact on the late Queen Elizabeth.
But what exactly happened? Well, here we take a look back at everything we know about the blaze. And how Queen Elizabeth felt afterwards.
Who noticed the fire at Windsor?
It’s claimed that the first sign of a fire came from one of the picture specialists who was on site due to renovations at the time.
According to a royal book, Charles Noble had returned to the Private Chapel and asked: “Can you smell burning?”
Moments after that, chief picture restorer Viola Pemberton-Piggott happened to look towards the curtains and spotted the flames.
Alarm bells were quickly sounded across Windsor Castle, and huge fire trucks arrived. But the fire managed to take hold very fast, and caused great damage.
What caused the Windsor Castle fire?
On November 20 1992 Windsor Castle, the home of Queen Elizabeth caught fire around 11.30am.
It’s believed that the blaze was actually caused by a faulty spotlight that had sparked a fire on a curtain. This was next to the altar in Queen Victoria’s Private Chapel.
But the strong fire caught, and within minutes the fire had spread to the surrounding private apartments, causing a lot of damage.
Queen Elizabeth was not in Windsor at the time. But her son, then Prince Andrew, was on the residence.
How quickly was the fire stopped?
Three hours after the fire was spotted, there were over 220 firemen from seven counties at the scene.
However, due to how horrible the blaze was, they had to work nonstop for 15 hours. It’s believed they used 36 pumps to spray 1.5 million gallons of water.
Thankfully, the fire was eventually fully put out. But it wasn’t until 2.30am the next day. So, the fire had almost lasted a full 24 hours.
How much damage did the Windsor Castle fire cause?
Thankfully the majority of prized possessions were removed from Windsor in time. But two art pieces – a rosewood sideboard, and a large painting by Sir William Beechey – weren’t able to be saved.
However, the actual damage was to the building itself, which was in ruins.
115 rooms in the castle were destroyed. This included nine official staterooms. And St George’s Hall had completely collapsed.
According to the United Press International, experts at the time believed it would cost $90million (£68.6K) to fix. And even thought it would take 10 years for the restoration to be complete.
How long did it take to rebuild Windsor Castle?
Thankfully it took less than 10 years. In fact, it was exactly half of that. On the fifth anniversary of the Windsor fire, the castle was officially finished the restoration.
At the time there was a lot of debate on whether or not the castle should have been restored to its exact original appearance or take on a new look.
In the end, there was a new room titled The Lantern Lobby, which actually replaced the Private Chapel where the fire started.
In addition to this a new passageway between private and State apartments was created. St George Hall was restored also, but that was given a 20th-century reinterpretation.
Queen Elizabeth was ‘devastated’ after the fire
Royal author Valentine Low detailed in his Power and the Palace book that the Windsor fire had quite an impact on Queen Elizabeth.
The queen had been in London at the time of the fire. But quickly rushed “to see the damage for herself and to rescue what she could from her apartments”.
Images were released at the time of Queen Elizabeth standing outside Windsor Castle surveying the damage.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor spoke at the time, revealing that his mother had been left “absolutely devastated” by the fire. And described the whole thing as “horrific” and “dreadful”.
Royal Insider has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
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