Windsor Castle Trip 13.05.16

We were all very excited about our trip to Windsor Castle and arrived at school ready for a very royal adventure! When arriving at the Castle we noticed that the Royal Standard was flying – we were thrilled as this meant the Queen was in residence at the Castle – perhaps we would see her! It was lucky that we had been practising our royal waves at school. After arriving at the Castle, the first part of our day was our Learning Session in which we learnt all about Queen Elizabeth II. We found out about her life; including her hobbies, interests and interesting facts all about her very long reign. Her Coronation ceremony was fascinating to hear about; especially the important symbols used within this such as the sceptre, crown, orb and robe. It was great fun when we re-enacted her Coronation, some of us were chosen to take part in the ceremony and we were brilliant at bowing and curtsying as her royal subjects! We left our session filled with lots of brilliant learning about our Queen.

After leaving the session we made our way to the Lower Ward to see the end of the guard change. It was great to see the soldiers looking so smart in their beautiful uniforms! We then headed to the Middle Ward to have our lunch outside as it was very warm and sunny. We were taken by surprise when a set of soldiers marched past us and our sandwiches – a front row view was an understatement! We made sure to do our best salutes for them.

We finished our lunches and joined the line to see Queen Mary’s Dolls’ house. We were astounded by how big and detailed it was and spotted the garage, throne room and kitchen to name but a few of its many rooms. Then it was on to the State Apartments inside the Castle itself. Every room was filled with beautiful pictures and details – a particularly interesting room was the Weaponry Room; where there were hundreds of different sets of armour and weapons that the Royal Family had accumulated over many, many years. Another room of interest was the Garter Throne Room where we all spotted the special Coronation portrait we had been shown in our Learning Session – well done us!

Our final part of the day was our tour of St George’s Chapel. We were amazed by how beautiful and calm it was inside. There were so many amazing wooden and marble carvings – it was a very special place to see.

We embarked on our journey home feeling very excited – and tired! - after a wonderful day at Windsor Castle. It was a brilliant experience being able to spend time learning about our Queen in the place she calls home.

Many thanks to our lovely helpers -  Mrs Bajwa, Mrs Whyte, Ms Platts and Mr Kott. We hope you enjoyed the trip as much as we did!