1992 was a challenging year for the Royal Family – three of four of Queen Elizabeth’s children parted ways with their spouses. And the infamous fire at the Windsor Castle and its aftermath was one of the most challenging things that the Royal Family had to deal with in 1992.
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How did it happen?
The fire started on November 20, 1992, in Queen Victoria’s Private Chapel. Metro.co.uk reported that a faulty spotlight ignited a curtain next to the altar and within minutes the blaze spread to St George’s Hall next door. The hall survived, however, its ceiling collapsed.
The fire continued for 15 hours from around 11.30 am on Friday morning to 2.30 am on Saturday. 225 firemen gathered within three hours from seven different counties to battle the flames. Around 36 water pumps used 1.5 million gallons of water.
The fire damaged as many as 100 rooms and hit tens of millions. This included collapsing of several ceilings, apartments like the Crimson Drawing Room, the Green Drawing Room, the Queen’s Private Chapel, The State Dining Room in the Prince of Wales Tower and the Grand Reception Room. Many other smaller apartments lost their plaster coving and mediaeval timber.
Aftermath
The notorious fire destroyed two artwork pieces – a rosewood sideboard and a very large painting by Sir William Beechey – which couldn’t be removed within the time from the wall. Many of the other priceless artefacts had already been removed beforehand due to a planned rewiring work.
It was initially estimated that the restoration work cost £60 million, however, the original cost was much lower – around £36.5 million. 70% of the cost would be met by charging the public for entering the castle and £8 was charged as the entry fee to Buckingham Palace for the next five years. Even the Queen contributed £2 million from her own money.
Source Used
Metro.co.uk: When did Windsor Castle catch fire and how much did it cost to restore it? The true story as it is depicted in The Crown series 5
