Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House

The Library inside the Dolls’ House contains miniature sets of Shakespeare. Look for the tiny copy of the play Troilus and Cressida on the table.

Find out more about learning opportunities at www.royalcollection.org.uk/learning

Learn about St George’s Chapel at www.stgeorges-windsor.org

February 2016

WINDSOR CASTLE

Shakespeare himself probably performed here at Windsor Castle, and Windsor is also the setting of his play

The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Many of the kings and queens to have lived at Windsor since Shakespeare’s time have greatly admired him. The timeline on the next page shows you

when these monarchs reigned.

illiam Shakespeare was a writer of great plays and poems. This year,

2016, marks 400 years since he died.

Shakespeare’s works became so famous that they are still enjoyed all over the world today. Some of his plays are comedies, some are

tragedies and some are based on history.

Follow this trail to find out more…

Garter Throne Room

Look for the portrait of George III in his Garter robes (left). This king’s love of learning led him to start a new royal collection of books. Of the 200,000 books in the Royal Library today, an impressive 500 are by Shakespeare!

St George’s Chapel

Before entering St George’s Chapel, walk a bit further down the hill and look through the archway into the Horseshoe Cloister. Look up at the triangular second floor of the building (right). This is the Vicars’ Hall where, according to legend, an early performance of The Merry Wives of Windsor took place!

The Chapel is the resting place of ten kings and queens, including Charles I, whose copy of Shakespeare’s plays is in the Drawings Gallery. Head to the Quire of the Chapel and find the marble slab on the floor, which shows where he is buried.

When someone is made a Knight of the Garter, a metal stall plate illustrating their coat of arms is fixed to the back of their stall (seat) in the Quire. Ask a steward to point out the stall plate that belonged to Sir Thomas Erpingham (right), who lived nearly 600 years ago and makes an appearance in Shakespeare’s play Henry V.

Well done on completing your trail. We hope you enjoyed your visit. As Shakespeare’s Juliet said, ‘Parting is such sweet sorrow’.

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Royal Shakespeare

Royal Shakespeare

Tragedy Comedy

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Drawings Gallery

Explore the Shakespeare in the Royal Library exhibition to discover how the playwright has been linked with Windsor and royalty through the ages. The most precious item on display is perhaps Charles I’s copy of Shakespeare’s plays (left). He is known to have read this book when being held prisoner, and even made personal notes in the text!

Grand Vestibule

Look for the statue of a famous queen. Her interest in Shakespeare began as a child when she started recording her thoughts about his plays in her journal. King John and Richard II were among her favourite Shakespeare plays.

Her name is Queen V __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Two monarchs with portraits in this room actually knew Shakespeare. Who do you think they are?

Clue 1: One of Shakespeare’s comedies, The Merry Wives of Windsor, was performed before this queen. This play tells the story of Sir John Falstaff (right), who had previously appeared in Shakespeare’s two Henry IV plays. Falstaff was a large and cowardly knight, and a terrible show-off!Clue 2: This queen’s grand and magnificent appearance seems to have captured the imagination of Shakespeare. His decision to include a Queen of the Fairies in The Merry Wives of Windsor was possibly made with this queen in mind.

Queen E __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ I Clue 3: This king considered Shakespeare and his fellow actors to be the best in the land, and so made them part of the Royal Household. The newly named ‘King’s Men’ then went on to take part in the king’s coronation celebrations.Clue 4: This Scottish king’s fascination with witchcraft helped helped encourage Shakespeare to write Macbeth, set in Scotland. This play opens with thunder, lightning and the entrance of three witches!

King J __ __ __ __ I

King’s Drawing Room

The queen mentioned above, along with her husband Prince Albert and their nine children, loved theatre and the arts so much that she requested private productions be put on at the Castle. Some took place in this room! Imagine watching a performance of the play Macbeth in here, like in the painting on the left. The specially-built stage was positioned in front of the window.

St George’s Hall

When Shakespeare was alive, this room, then known as the Great Hall, was most likely the main space used for performing plays.

On the ceiling, you can see lots of shields with the coats of arms (badges) of all of the Knights of the Garter. Although Shakespeare was not made a Knight of the Garter, in 1596 he was granted a coat of arms. Design your own coat of arms for him on the shield opposite.

Here is a portrait of Charles II. Find another one of him in St George’s Hall. During Charles’ reign, women were finally allowed to act on the stage. Until then, men had taken on female roles, like in pantomimes.

The State Apartments

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Queen’s Drawing Room

1558-1603

Elizabeth I

1603-1625

James I

1625-1649

Charles I

1660-1685

Charles II

1760-1820

George III

1837-1901

Queen Victoria

1952-

Queen Elizabeth II

Kings and queens with links to Shakespeare

Our Queen opened the new Globe Theatre in 1997. The original theatre was built by Shakespeare’s acting company in 1599.

William ShakespeareBorn 1564 - Died 1616