Inside Windsor Castle

Narrator: Windsor--

the oldest and largest continually inhabited castle

in the world.

For 1,000 years,

it's been the symbol of britain's royal dynasties.

For the queen, this is a palace like no other.

Man: The windsor castle is her home.

It is a family home as well,

and she feels very comfortable there.

Narrator: 1,000 rooms,

hundreds of staff,

billions of dollars' worth of paintings and fine furnishings,

5,000 acres of parkland.

Man: It's a great stage

on which the whole royal business can be acted out.

Narrator: It's also where the royal family hides its secrets.

Woman: There are documents and letters there

that I think probably every historian

would give their eyeteeth for.

Narrator: It's been the queen's home for 80 years.

We'll reveal what really happened

behind the castle's imposing walls.

It was the toughest decade of the queen's reign--

the 1990s.

Man: The royals suddenly found

that they were being analyzed, criticized, and ridiculed.

Narrator: When an unprecedented disaster

threatened to destroy the castle

and bring down the queen.

Reporter: Five hours on,

the flames still rising from the turrets.

A whole royal treasure house at risk.

Narrator: We reveal how the queen stepped in

to put an end to Charles and Diana's marriage.

Man: When the queen was going to write

something as significant as that

about the future of the monarchy,

it could only come from the desk at windsor.

Narrator: And we discover how, in the 21st century,

the castle has played a crucial role

in reviving the popularity of britain's royal family.

In 2016, Elizabeth II

was britain's longest serving monarch.

She also turned 90 years old,

making her the oldest monarch in the nation's history.

To celebrate these two great milestones,

there was only one place she wanted to be--

windsor.

Robert jobson: Windsor is at the core of all things royal,

so when the queen turned 90,

the celebration focus was in windsor castle.

That's where she was.

Narrator: She went into the town outside the castle

to meet her loyal subjects

and was given a cake from celebrity baker nadiya hussain.

Since her childhood days 80 years earlier,

windsor castle has been a safe haven for the queen.

It played a central role in many of the key events of the nation.

Andrew Morton: When people talk about Buckingham Palace

as the family home to the house of windsor,

they're wrong.

Windsor castle has been the hub of royal history down the ages.

It's where the royals have met,

married, been dispatched, and hatched.

Narrator: It's been the queen's weekend home

ever since she was crowned.

Paul burrell: Fridays are always an exciting day

at Buckingham Palace because the queen is preparing

for her weekend at windsor, her country retreat,

so after lunch on Friday,

we're busy packing up all her bits and pieces,

the things that she might need for the weekend.

Narrator: Paul burrell worked as the queen's personal footman

at windsor castle for 11 years.

Burrell: It's a half-an-hour drive down the m4

from Buckingham Palace.

That's what the queen loves best.

She can get into her little car, unmarked,

get into the traffic, into the flow,

and be in windsor in half an hour,

in the countryside with her dogs and her horses.

Narrator: And there's plenty of room for all of them

at the queen's country retreat.

With an impressive 1,000 rooms,

the castle covers a whopping 13 acres.

From the air, the round tower

sits in the middle of two distinct sections.

The castle's lower section

is dominated by St. George's chapel

and houses some of the castle's 350 staff,

but the queen lives at the other end of the castle,

in the upper section.

Here, the queen's private apartments

include the royal nursery, the queen's private study,

dining room, and, of course, her bedchamber.

Kate Williams: The queen likes a very simple traditional look,

a very old English look,

so the minute you go into the private apartments

in windsor castle,

you'd automatically feel at home

because you've seen that kind of decor

in many houses across britain.

Narrator: But windsor castle is much more

than a very large, very fancy private home.

It's also a state building unique in the world.

Jobson: Windsor castle has been at the core of this monarchy,

this 1,000-year monarchy, since its conception.

Narrator: First constructed as a fortress

just after the Norman invasion,

windsor castle has 1,000 years of royal history

within its walls.

Williams: William the conqueror built windsor castle,

and so when you're in the castle,

it's not just about Elizabeth II.

It's about all of the monarchs stretching right back to 1066.

Narrator: From the Norman conquest

through Henry viii, queen Victoria,

and now the windsors,

every British royal has regarded windsor castle

as their seat of power.

Richard Kay: Windsor castle represents Great Britain plc.

It is the place that visiting potentates

want to see above all else,

and that's why it's used so often as a backdrop

for these great state occasions.

Narrator: And the queen's 90th birthday at windsor

was also a state occasion.

It was marked by a visit

from the most powerful man on the planet.

But even when the president of the United States drops in,

he has to respect the house rules.

Kay: When Obama came to see the queen,

she instructed American security that the helicopter

should not land on the lawns at windsor castle,

and she reminded them that this was her home

and she didn't want

her lovely green herbaceous border messed up.

Narrator: And to emphasize how much it was their home,

once the Obamas had landed, the 95-year-old Duke of Edinburgh

personally drove the president up to the castle for lunch.

It was a special picture,

designed to have impact around the world.

Formal but relaxed, a popular queen totally at ease.

This was an astonishing transformation.

The 90th birthday triumph came at the end

of an extraordinarily dark chapter in the windsor story.

Back in 1992, royal popularity had plummeted,

and windsor castle itself was almost completely destroyed.

Friday, the 20th of November, 1992,

was the queen's 45th wedding anniversary,

a day to celebrate.

But the day was to become one of the worst in windsor history.

At 11:20 that morning,

a work light which had been left too close to a curtain

started a fire inside the queen's private chapel

at windsor castle.

Within minutes, the 300-year-old room was ablaze.

At 11:36, the alarm was sounded.

Five minutes later,

the queen's press officer at Buckingham Palace

received an urgent phone call.

Dickie arbiter: I'm in the press office,

and I got a, a phone call from BBC radio berkshire saying,

"can you confirm the fire at windsor castle?"

And I thought, "fire at windsor castle?

What fire at windsor castle?"

I left the palace probably about 5 past 12.

I could see from the motorway black smoke billowing,

and if you can see a lot of black smoke,

you know you've got a big fire.

Narrator: At 12:25, 50 minutes after it started,

arbiter arrived at the castle

and found 225 firemen and 39 engines battling an inferno.

Arbiter: There is a hive of activity going on.

There's a human chain moving stuff from the royal library.

Lots of artifacts had to, had to be saved,

hundreds of years old.

And this they were doing.

They were moving a carpet, an incredibly long carpet,

which was almost like a snake.

Narrator: In the thick of it,

the queen's second son, Andrew, coordinates an evacuation.

Prince Andrew: I came up to see if I could help,

and, yes, I could.

Let's get as much as we possibly can out.

Arbiter: And he was very good

because he was able to tell the military

what to do, how to do it, and where to take it.

Narrator: It also fell to Andrew

to phone his mother with the bad news.

Man: What was your mother's reaction, sir?

Prince Andrew: Her majesty was shocked.

Arbiter: The queen was due to arrive at windsor

at about 3:00 in the afternoon,

and that's when she did arrive.

And immediately she put on

a long sort of barbour coat, headscarf, as she always does,

and was briefed by the deputy county fire chief, David Harper.

He gave her sort of full background of what was happening

and how they were tackling the fire.