Royal | News - Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Windsor Castle was engulfed in flames on this day in 1992 – a day which also happened to be the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s 45th wedding anniversary.
On November 20, 1992, the late Queen’s beloved royal residence was damaged so badly by the fire that it wasn’t fully restored for five years.
The catastrophic event was later revealed to have been started by a halogen lamp in Queen Victoria’s private chapel.
After 40ft flames engulfed the property, it was set to total around £36.5 million for a full restoration.
It was first believed that the damage would be restored with taxpayers money, but a stop was soon put to this after it led to outrage from the public and politicians.
Prince Andrew is said to have been staying at the property at the time and called his mother to reveal the devastating news.
A team of picture restorers had been working at the property at around 11.15am when one of them noticed a burning smell.
It has been reported that although paintings weren’t usually kept in the chapel, they were “being stored there during rewiring work”.
The one worker who noticed the smell is also “said to have seen the tops of the curtains on fire”.
An attempt was made to save the paintings and the “alarm was raised quickly”. The restorers also “began frantically removing works of art”. By 11.45am, the whole chapel was consumed by the blaze.
The late Queen is said to have arrived at around 3pm to assess the damage and oversee which items were saved in the blaze. Speaking of her reaction at the time, Buckingham Palace press officer Dickie Arbiter said: “Probably the same reaction as yours if you saw your home burning down. Very upset.”
Much like his mother, Andrew is said to have told reporters: “It’s horrific, dreadful, terrible.”