Windsor Castle

The official residence of the British monarch for nearly 1,000 years, Windsor Castle is haunted by the ghosts of kings and queens.

Henry VIII

The infamous Tudor king who executed two wives:

• His heavy, dragging footsteps are heard in the cloisters
• He was afflicted with a leg ulcer in later life
• The sound of his painful walking echoes at night
• He appears in the Deanery Cloisters

Elizabeth I

The Virgin Queen still walks her favorite residence:

• Seen in the Royal Library
• Wearing the black dress of her later years
• Her footsteps heard in the corridors
• She appears before momentous events

Charles I

Executed during the English Civil War:

• Seen in the library and Canon’s house
• Appears melancholy and thoughtful
• Dressed in 17th-century cavalier clothing
• His headless body was buried at Windsor

George III

The “Mad King” who lost America:

• Seen in the room where he was confined during his illness
• Appears at windows, gazing out
• Staff hear his distressed voice

Other Royal Ghosts

Queen Anne

• Appears in the Long Walk
• Seen riding in a phantom carriage

The Young Princes

• Two children in Tudor dress
• Playing in the Dean’s Cloister
• Possibly the murdered princes from the Tower

Herne the Hunter

The most ancient ghost:

• A phantom huntsman with antlers
• Leads spectral hounds through the Great Park
• Associated with oak trees
• Dates to medieval times or earlier

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Windsor Castle is open to visitors, though royal ghosts are not guaranteed.