The Royal Ghosts of Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle located in Berkshire England is the oldest and largest castle in the world. It has been continuously occupied for almost 1000 years. It is the official residence of the British monarchy. 

Today 500 people live and work in Windsor. Witnesses state that several ghostly former members of the English royal family also reside in the castle. 

In the 16^th century King Henry Vlll ruled Britain and Wales. * His ghost has been heard wandering the castle’s halls and corridors. He is heard groaning and dragging his ulcerated leg in the Cloisters, which is the condition that eventually caused his death in 1547. 

Several witnesses have described him as “being a large anxious, angry man” he is heard pacing back and forth and sometimes he is heard shouting. 

A more recent sighting occurred in the mid-1970s. Castle guards saw the former monarch walk through the battlements. Later they were told that there used to be a door at the spot they saw his ghost disappear.

Henry Vlll had two of his wives beheaded, Anne Boleyn who is also seen at Winsor and her cousin Catherine Howard who haunts Hampton Court, which I wrote about in another post. 

Anne not able to give Henry a son and heir was found guilty of treason, adultery, and witchcraft. She was executed at the Tower of London in 1536. Her ghost has been seen in the Dean’s Cloister at Windsor. 

She is spotted peering through windows. Some have stated she appears to be sad, others said they saw her weeping. One fanciful legend states she is seen running holding her head under her arm.

King Henry’s youngest daughter, Queen Elizabeth l is said to haunt the royal library at Winsor. 

Witnesses have heard the sound of her clicking heels as she moves around this wood floor room. She is seen wearing a black dress and shawl. 

Both members of the royal family and staff had seen her ghost for years. One witness, King George lll not only saw her he talked to her. She told him that she was Elizabeth and that she “was married to England.”

One hundred years after this encounter, Edward Vll told his mistress that he had seen her ghost. He described her dressed all in black stating she resembled the “the great Tudor queen.” 

Princess Margaret also saw Elizabeth’s ghost.

In recent years a guard saw her ghost, he followed her to the library where she then just disappeared as he watched her. 

She is considered a harbinger because she has appeared just before war breaks out. George Vl saw her several nights in a row just as World War ll began.

Another English king spotted at Windsor is George lll. He suffered from mental illness during his reign in the 1700s. When he would have bad spells, he was kept from prying eyes in a room located below the library. 

His ghost was often seen during the Victorian era standing at this libraries’ windows or in the doorway. 

Military Guardsmen at Windsor have seen his ghost staring down at them from a window as they perform their various duties. Several have admitted to being rattled by this strange sight. 

Other witnesses have heard him mutter a phrase he was fond of saying while alive, "What, what?' He was unhappy in life, but some witnesses have stated that they saw his ghost smiling.

Another royal known to haunt Winsor is Queen Victoria.

Ironically, while alive, she attempted to get rid of a ghost that hundreds of people had seen over 250 years. ** 

Herne the Hunter, Richard ll's forester hung himself from an oak tree because he was dismissed from service. Witnesses have seen him wearing deer skins and a helmet adorned with antlers. 

In the 1860s Queen Victoria had this tree chopped down and then she burned the logs as firewood in an attempt to get rid of his spirit--it didn't work.  

Her ghost made an appearance during Edward’s Vlll's very brief reign. 

A short time after Edward's father died he started to modify the Windsor grounds at the request of his lover, Wallace Simpson whom he abdicated the throne for. She requested several spruce trees be removed that Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had planted.

As the workmen proceeded to cut these trees down, several inexplicable incidents occurred that hampered their work. 

These strange occurrences were explained when Queen Victoria’s displeased ghost was seen running from the castle in their direction. She was moaning loudly and waving her arms frantically.

* Yet another monarch who haunts Windsor who reigned after HenryVlll's time was Charles l. He was accused of treason and held as a prisoner at Windsor Castle for his role in the English Civil War, he was found guilty and decapitated in 1649. 

He is buried in a vault at Windsor along with Henry Vlll. His ghost has been seen in the Cannon's house, but most often he is seen standing near a table in the royal library.

** Windsor also has a variety of other ghosts that were not members of the royal family. In the future, I will share some of their stories.

Click to enlarge

The Ghost of Catherine Howard

Catherine Howard became the fifth wife of the Tudor King Henry VIII. She was born in 1521 into a prestigious Catholic family. Her first cousin Anne Boleyn, the niece of the Duke of Norfolk, was King Henry VIII’s second wife. Unfortunately, Catherine's fate was to be similar to her cousins. 

Catherine’s mother died when she was young, so she was sent to live in the house of Agnes, with the Dowager Duchess who basically ignored her. Her education was neglected, and she could barely read or write.

Catherine Howard

Because of this neglect, Catherine had freedom most young woman of noble birth at that time were not allowed. She became flirtatious and impetuous, which resulted in illicit relationships with young men. Catherine had a tie at the age of 15 with her music teacher, Henry Mannox. She then took a gentleman’s usher by the name Francis Dereham as her first lover. 

When the Dowager was informed of Catherine’s behavior she was horrified. Instead of blaming herself she had Catherine whipped. The Duke of Norfolk decided that his young niece who was admired for her beauty should be sent to court to advance the families’ fortunes.

She was sent to Hampton Court to be a lady-in-waiting. Just as the Duke had hoped she attracted the eye of King Henry VIII. Henry became obsessed with Catherine. Thinking she was all that was pure and good, he started to think of her as his “rose without thorn.” Catherine was indeed sweet and kind, but she was not innocent. At first, she didn’t mind the difference in their ages--she was 19 he was 49. She liked the beautiful clothes and jewels that Henry provided.

Catherine married Henry in 1540. But it wasn’t long before her soiled past started to catch up with her. She was forced to give former members of the Dowager Duchesses’ household positions at Court in return for their silence. 

Not long after her marriage, still promiscuous, Catherine started a new affair. A young courtier, Thomas Culpepper whose duties were to attend to all of Henry’s special needs, became her lover. Jane Rochford a lady-in waiting who had played a part in Queen Anne Boleyn’s downfall encouraged this affair between Catherine and Culpepper. 

Their affair quickly became known at court. At first, Henry would not listen to these rumors. But the Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer built a case against the young Catholic Queen. His evidence included information about her affairs while at Agnes and love letters that she had written to Culpepper. 

Henry devastated banned Catherine from his presence and ordered she be arrested. Catherine was confined to her apartments at Hampton Court for adultery.

She escaped at one point and tried to find Henry to plead for her life. But she was dragged back screaming to her rooms. Catherine’s former lovers, Mannox, Dereham, and Culpepper were tortured and executed. She passed their gruesome impaled heads on London Bridge on her way to the Tower of London. She was beheaded in February of 1542 at the age of 21. 

After the executioner chopped off her head with an ax, he held it up for the crowd to see. She would have remained alive for eight seconds after her head was removed from her body because it takes that long for the lack of oxygen to cause unconsciousness and death. So Catherine most likely saw her own headless body when this was done.

Catherine Howard’s ghost haunts two places. She is seen in the area where she was kept awaiting execution at the Tower of London and at Hampton Court Palace where she lived with King Henry VIII. 

Her ghost has become known as "The Screaming Lady of the Haunted Gallery."

Since her death, she has been seen running through the Hampton gallery for it was here she was dragged back to her rooms after attempting to plead for her life. She is known as an anniversary ghost for her apparition is seen in this area on the date she was put under arrest. Her ghostly hand is also seen floating near the portrait of her in this gallery.

Many visitors to this Haunted Gallery over the years have stated that they sensed something not quite right about this area. "Grace- of- favor" residents in nearby apartments report hearing her screams in the gallery. One radio interview that was being conducted in this area had to shut down when their equipment stopped working. 

In 1999, two female visitors to Hampton Court each on separate tours a half hour apart fainted att he same exact spot in this gallery. In 2000 psychologists from the University of Hertfordshire concluded from their investigation that all the witnesses to this activity over the years experienced it in the same areas.

Hampton Court Palace has many other ghosts that haunt it as well. In future posts, I will share their stories. Even King Henry VIII’s ghost has been seen but not at Hampton Court. His spirit is seen at Windsor Castle.