It’s a royal seat with a thousand years of history behind it but, as Prince William revealed during a recent appearance on a new travel series, one tourist didn’t quite appreciate just how old Windsor Castle really is.
The Prince of Wales, 43, joined Schitt’s Creek star Eugene Levy on his Apple+ TV show The Reluctant Traveler and shared what it’s like when most of your family’s homes double up as major tourist attractions.
William, 43, gave Canadian comic Levy, 78, an exclusive tour of Windsor Castle, the estate beloved by the late Queen Elizabeth II, in the episode filmed earlier this year and divulged how the royal family reacted to one tourist’s bemusing comment.
Despite visitors who tour the accessible quarters of the royal estate being told that Windsor remains the world’s largest occupied castle, founded by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, one bemused visitor apparently piped up with a gem of a comment.
Prince William said that the royals would occasionally hear stories fed back by the castle’s trusty team of tour guides, and that on one occasion, the family was told that a tourist had questioned the historic castle’s site.
The heir to the throne said: ‘The tour guides get to hear some funny stories. We heard back one time, that – I won’t name the nationality of the tourist, but – they’re looking around the castle going, “Wow, this place is incredible, but why did they have to build the castle so close to Heathrow airport”‘.
Suggesting there may be a list of tourist gaffes in existence amongst the Windsor family, he added that the misguided question ‘has gone down as the sort of number one quote of a tourist going around Windsor Castle.’
The royal joked with Levy in the episode, which aired on Friday: ‘I know my history is bad, but that’s another level.’
Heathrow Airport lies just 11 miles from Windsor Castle – around 16 minutes by car. It was constructed in 1930 but didn’t become a major airport until 1966.
Great site, but why would you build it so close to the world’s busiest airport? Prince William has shared how one bemused tourist at Windsor Castle had no concept to the estate’s thousand-year history
Royal fans will be treated to a full installment of the Prince when the full episode of The Reluctant Traveler is made available on Friday
Meanwhile, Windsor Castle has been around since 1070, home to 40 monarchs and a venue for many a royal wedding – it also attracts around 1.4 million overseas visitors each year.
Prince Harry’s 2018 marriage to Meghan Markle, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s nuptials, also in 2018, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh’s wedding in 1999, have all taken place at St George’s Chapel.
While King Charles and Queen Camilla had their civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall in 2005, they also followed up with a Service of Prayer and Dedication at St George’s Chapel afterwards.
The episode also saw Eugene asking William about the bond his grandmother had with Windsor Castle and he explained how the estate had been hugely important to the late monarch.
‘For me Windsor is her. She loved it here, she spent most of her time here. Showing you around today is very much a case of trying to make sure I’m doing it in the way she’d want you to see it.
The Prince of Wales (right) showed off his motoring skills in a humorous moment that captured him whizzing around Windsor Castle at impressive speed. Pictured with Eugene Levy (left)
‘She had her horses here as well, as you can imagine that was a big deal for her so that’s why she loved it here.’
One of the reasons that William and the Princess of Wales moved their family to Windsor from London in the summer of 2022 was to spend more time with Queen Elizabeth in the latter years of her life.
In the coming months, Kate and William will move from four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage to Forest Lodge, a Georgian mansion – although still modest by royal standards – in which they plan to remain even after William becomes King.
During the show, William was also seen gliding effortlessly on a scooter before coming to a controlled stop and dismounting in front of Levy – sharing that the zippy e-scooter was a quick way to negotiate his sprawling home.
‘This is your mode of transport?’ Eugene asked, to which the Prince confirmed it was while he was ‘on the grounds’.
‘I have a very low threshold for adventure so I’ve actually never been on one,’ Eugene added.
‘It gets around nicely, it’s quite fun,’ William responded.
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