The Windsor Castle fire of 20 November 1992

On 20 November 1992, 32 years to this very day, fire broke out in Windsor Castle, destroying 115 rooms, including nine State Rooms.

St George's Hall, Windsor Castle after the fire, and today dressed for Christmas.  Images © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2024 | Royal Collection Trust

How did the Windsor Castle fire begin?

The fire began in Queen Victoria's Private Chapel.  A faulty spotlight set a curtain alight next to the chapel’s altar. Within minutes the blaze had taken hold and had spread to St George's Hall next door. Within three hours of the fire being detected at around 11:30am, 225 firefighters from seven counties were battling the flames. At the peak of the operation they were using 36 pumps, discharging 1½ million gallons of water.

Windsor Castle Quadrangle.  Image © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2024 | Royal Collection Trust

Evacuating works of art from Windsor Castle

Luckily, the fire break at the other end of St George's Hall remained unbreached meaning that the Royal Library was undamaged. Meanwhile staff were removing priceless works of art from the path of the fire. The Castle's Quadrangle was full of some of the finest examples of French 18th-century furniture, paintings by Van Dyck, Rubens and Gainsborough, Sèvres porcelain and other treasures of the Royal Collection.

It is amazing to think that only two works of art were lost in the fire: a rosewood sideboard and a very large painting by Sir William Beechey that couldn't be taken down from the wall in time. Luckily, in advance of rewiring work, works of art had already been removed from many rooms.

Windsor Castle's Grand Reception Room after the fire then restored.  Images © Royal Collection Enterprises Limited 2024 | Royal Collection Trust (right hand image photographer Peter Smith)

Restoring Windsor Castle after the fire

The fire was finally put out at 2:30am on Saturday 21 November, having burned for 15 hours. The next step was the immense task to restore Windsor Castle back to its former glory. The Restoration Committeee was chaired by Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, and there were several different options to consider.  Should the Castle be restored to its appearance on 19 November 1992, the day before the terrible fire, or should a new approach be taken?

A combined approach was chosen; a new room called The Lantern Lobby created in the space where the private chapel had previously stood and where the fire had begun. This created a formal passageway between the private and State Apartments. St George's Hall was restored to a design close to the room's original 14th-century appearance, but with a 20th-century reinterpretation. A new hammer-beam roof was constructed from sustainable English oak using traditional methods and tools.

When was Windsor Castle restored after the fire?

The official completion date for the restoration project was 20 November 1997, five years to the day after the outbreak of the fire and, touchingly, the 50th wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.