A Sad Goodbye
“There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart.”
Over the past four weeks we’ve toured London, Canterbury, Rye, New Forest, and Wiltshire. But as the proverb goes, all good things must come to an end. Early this morning, we put on our brave faces, left the Old Turnpike Cottage, and headed back toward London.
It was a frosty 23º F as we passed what has oddly enough become a somewhat common site over the past few weeks.
Windsor Castle sits 20 minutes from Heathrow Airport, so it was the perfect diversion for our final hours together before Will’s flight home.
As an inhabited castle, tourists are only permitted to take photographs outside the castle—which is unfortunate given the many stunning interior spaces.
Entering by the gate beneath the Edward III Tower.
The Round Tower (and the old Keep) in the Middle Ward, with the State Apartments and the Upper Ward in the background.
It would be very difficult to overstate the magnificence of the rooms along the tour (and it’s probably a good thing I couldn't take pictures 😜 ). After the grandeur of the State Apartments, you exit near this beautiful courtyard in the Upper Ward.
A beautiful water feature below the Round Tower.
From the Upper Ward, we walked through the Middle Ward (past the Round Tower), to the Lower Ward, which is home to St George’s Chapel. The Chapel is the spiritual home of the Order of the Garter, the oldest order of chivalry in the world, founded by Edward III in 1348.
On the roof of the chapel, standing on the pinnacles, are seventy-six heraldic statues representing the Queen’s Beasts.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married at the Chapel in 2018.
Private funeral services for Queen Elizabeth II (2022) and her husband Prince Philip (2021) were held in the Chapel.
Prince Philip’s funeral procession on April 17, 2021.
The Chapel’s West Door and stairs.
Newly married Prince Harry and Meghan Markle descend the stairs on May 19, 2018.
Prince Philip’s funeral procession up the steps and through the West Doors on April 17, 2021.
Will with one of the Castle guards.
As with the other Castle buildings, photography was not allowed inside the Chapel. Suffice it to say, the interior is certainly befitting of the Chapel’s standing and stunning to behold.
This past December, we were fortunate to watch live as King Charles III delivered his first Christmas Day speech as British monarch from the Chapel.
The Chapel Quire is also the final resting place for Henry VIII and his third wife Jane Seymour. Bear him a son and you get buried beside him in St George’s Chapel—don’t and, well, not so much! Buried beside Henry and Jane is also Charles I.
We were fortunate enough to see inside the King George VI Memorial Chapel (a room off to the side inside the main Chapel), where Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother were buried. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, was originally interred in the Royal Vault in 2021. He was recently moved to the King George VI Memorial Chapel along with Queen Elizabeth II, when they were interred on the evening of September 19, 2022.
Leaving the Castle grounds by the King Henry VIII Gate.
We had lunch at the Duchess of Cambridge pub just across the street from the Castle. We then drove Will to Heathrow where we said our finals goodbyes before Will disappeared beyond the same security gate as Pam many weeks earlier.
Seated on the upper deck of an Airbus A380-800, Will lifts from Runway 27L at Heathrow.
