The left column of this information board has the following wording:
The Queen’s Walkway
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh have enjoyed a long association with Windsor. The Queen and her sister, Princess Margaret, spent most of the Second World War in the Castle. After King George VI died in February 1952, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh opened some rooms in the Castle, and it soon became their weekend retreat from London. They are there for the Easter Court, for the Garter Ceremony and Royal Ascot in June, and since 1969 there have been occasional State Visits to Windsor, with the procession passing this spot.
Since 1917 Windsor has also been the name of the Royal House.
In ancient times, the Anglo-Saxon Kings held court in a palace at Old Windsor, but William the Conqueror saw the advantage of building a tower on high land above the Thames to help guard London. His son, Henry I built a residence within the Castle walls and first held court there in 1110. Most
sovereigns have lived in the Castle since then, and many Kings and Queens of
England are buried in St George’s Chapel.
The Queen’s Walkway celebrates the town of Windsor. The original town was largely laid out by 1170. “New Windsor” had rights as a free borough and was made into a royal borough under a charter of Edward I in 1277.
William Shakespeare knew Windsor well and it inspired his play, The Merry Wives of Windsor. The present Guildhall (to the right) was built between 1687 and 1691, and since 1778 when George III moved to Windsor, the town has profited from its royal associations. Since the English Civil War, Windsor has been a garrison town with a military presence that continues to this day. Windsor Bridge formed a permanent link to Eton in 1822 and the arrival of the Great Western Railway in 1849 made Windsor more accessible to London.
The Queen’s Walkway will help you explore this historic town with its theatre, its churches, its parks and gardens, its elegant residential streets, its many historic monuments, its railway stations, and the River Thames.
Unveiled by
Her Majesty The Queen
On the occasion of her 90th Birthday
21st April 2016
To the right of the photo can be seen illustrations of people cheering with
Union Jack flags and of Queen Elizabeth II.