The Inner Hall of Windsor Castle, the queen’s grand estate an hour outside of London, was opened to the public this week. That sounds cool—because, well, castles are cool—but what makes the unveiling of the recently restored Inner Hall so remarkable is that this space hasn’t been available to view for more than 150 years.
Or 153 years, to be exact. In the 1820s, the Inner Hall, with its impressive vaulted ceilings, was used by George IV as a grand, stately entrance for esteemed guests. But it was closed by Queen Victoria in 1866, its entry sealed off by a stone wall. For the past several decades, it has been a storage space, albeit a fancy one.
But the space was restored thanks to the Royal Collection Trust. Paint was chipped away to uncover the original ceiling design: the work of the famous Regency-era ornamentalist carver Francis Bernasconi. A view of Windsor Castle’s leafy-lined, two-and-a-half-mile Long Walk—the final stretch of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s fairy-tale carriage ride after their royal wedding—can be seen from the antique windows. The entire project took two years to complete.
The 1,000-year-old ancient fortress isn’t the only one of the queen’s properties to recently undergo renovations. Buckingham Palace is in the midst of a 10-year, $482 million restoration. Much of the badly needed repairs involve replacing things like boilers, generators, electrical panels, and water tanks. (Its electrical cabling, plumbing, and heating systems have been around since the 1950s.) The palace also hopes to become more energy efficient.
In the fall of 2018, work began on the East Wing, which involved relocating more than 3,000 priceless works of fine art.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also recently renovated their royal home, Frogmore Cottage. It’s said that they used interior designer Vicky Charles, who previously oversaw design for Soho House.
