Windsor Castle Guide: Tickets, Closures & Getting There

Windsor Castle is a working royal residence — the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world — operated by the Royal Collection Trust (RCT), a fully separate organization from Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), which runs the Tower of London, Kensington Palace and Hampton Court Palace. There is no crossover pass between Windsor Castle and those three sites, and an HRP annual membership does not cover Windsor Castle — a common point of visitor confusion worth knowing before you plan a trip around a membership.

Advance booking by date is recommended for the best value and guaranteed entry: Adult tickets are £32.00 booked in advance versus £36.00 on the day, so booking ahead saves £4. Tickets are sold by date rather than a narrow time slot — this is not the same as timed entry.

Because it's a working residence, the whole Castle or specific rooms (such as St George's Hall or the Semi-State Rooms) can close entirely at short notice for state or ceremonial occasions. This is a recurring, structural risk rather than a one-off — always check the official site close to your visit date. The Castle is also closed every Tuesday and Wednesday, with rare exceptions, and St George's Chapel is not open to visitors on Sundays (worship only).

Windsor Castle is roughly 25 miles from central London — realistically over an hour door-to-door by train (via Paddington and Slough, or direct from Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside). It shouldn't be scheduled as a quick central-London add-on.

Windsor Castle was founded around 1070 by William the Conqueror as part of a ring of defensive castles around London, and has been used by a continuous line of English and British monarchs since the reign of Henry I — making it the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. Over nearly 1,000 years it has been expanded and remodelled by numerous monarchs, from medieval fortifications to the State Apartments and St George's Chapel, a masterpiece of English Gothic architecture and the burial place of several English monarchs.

The castle suffered a major fire in 1992 that damaged a significant number of rooms, followed by an extensive restoration. It remains an official residence of the British monarch and continues to host state ceremonial occasions, which is why specific rooms or the whole castle can close to visitors at short notice.