Stories From Windsor Castle

If you have been around Two Chums for any time at all you know our love for all things royal.  We enjoy everything about the royal family….their events, their fashion, and of course their homes.  This Sunday, August 13th,  a special 4 part series will begin about one of the most beloved of royal residences… Windsor Castle.  The Smithsonian Channel will begin a series on Sunday evening entitled Inside Windsor Castle.  The first two episodes will air beginning with Episode 1 which begins at 8 pm, entitled Tragedy and Triumph.  The Smithsonian Channel describes it like this:

“The 1990s would be the toughest decade of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, marked by the worst disaster in Windsor Castle’s 1,000-year history plus a series of scandals that would rock the Royal Family. Join us as we look at the 1992 fire that ripped through the castle on the day of the Queen’s 45th wedding anniversary and the public backlash over who should pay for the restoration. Then see how the Queen responded to the criticism, as well as a string of family scandals and tragedies, to rebuild both the castle and the reputation of the monarchy.”

Episode 2 will air at 9pm.  It is entitled Love and War and is described like this:

“Queen Elizabeth II’s childhood years were spent at Windsor Castle hiding from the Nazi blitzkrieg and falling deeply in love. Despite the devastation England felt from World War II, these would prove to be some of the happiest days of her life. Join us as we reveal how the castle kept the queen and her sister Princess Margaret out of harm’s way during WWII. Then discover how an annual Christmas pantomime at Windsor sparked a flame between Prince Philip and the future queen, leading to one of history’s most enduring royal romances.”

The following week, Sunday, August 20th, Episodes 3: Happy Families:

“After King George VI died in 1952, the keys to Windsor Castle were handed to Queen Elizabeth II, who made it a home for her growing family. But life inside the walls of the castle was often a challenge for her, alongside a husband struggling in the role of second fiddle and a mother reluctant to give up the extravagant lifestyle that left her deeply in debt. Follow life in Windsor Castle from the formal 1950s through the Swinging ’60s and into the ’70s, and see how Queen Elizabeth II juggled the great demands of family and job.”

And Episode 4: Four Divorces and A Fire:

“In the early 1970s, all was well in Windsor Castle. Queen Elizabeth II had balanced the demands of her extraordinary job and family, and capped the year with a lavish 25th wedding anniversary celebration. But over the next 20 years, bitter divisions and domestic disasters would rock the Royal Family, resulting in four doomed marriages and their 1,000-year-old home engulfed in flames. Witness the time when Windsor became home to one of the unhappiest families in Britain, as their secrets spilled out from behind the castle walls.”

These episodes will air at 8pm and 9pm respectively.

Check your local listings to verify times and channel number.  Then set your DVRs.  You won’t want to miss this series! Joy…pure joy!