St George's Chapel is the place of worship at Windsor Castle in England, United Kingdom. It is both a royal peculiar and the chapel of the Order of the Garter. The chapel is governed by the dean and Canons of Windsor.
In 1348, King Edward III founded two new religious colleges: St Stephen's at Westminster and St George's at Windsor. The new college at Windsor was attached to the Chapel of St Edward the Confessor which had been constructed by Henry III in the early thirteenth century. The chapel was then rededicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Edward the Confessor and St George the Martyr. Edward III also built the Aerary Porch in 1353–1354. It was used as the entrance to the new college.
St George's Chapel became the Mother Church of the Order of the Garter, and a special service is still held in the chapel every June and is attended by the members of the order. Their heraldic banners hang above the upper stalls of the choir where they have a seat for life.
The period 1475–1528 saw a radical redevelopment of St George's Chapel, set in motion by Edward IV and continued by Henry VII and Henry VIII. The thirteenth century Chapel of St Edward the Confessor was expanded into a huge new Cathedral-like chapel under the supervision of Richard Beauchamp, Bishop of Salisbury, and the direction of the master mason Henry Janyns. The Horseshoe Cloister was constructed for the new community of 45 junior members: 16 vicars, a deacon gospeller, 13 lay clerks, 2 clerks epistoler and 13 choristers.
St George's Chapel was a popular destination for pilgrims during the late medieval period. The chapel was purported to contain several important relics: the bodies of John Schorne and Henry VI of England and a fragment of the True Cross held in a reliquary called the Cross of Gneth. These relics all appear to have been displayed at the east end of the south choir aisle.
The Chapel suffered a great deal of destruction during the English Civil War. Parliamentary forces broke into and plundered the chapel and treasury on 23 October 1642. Further pillaging occurred in 1643 when the fifteenth-century chapter house was destroyed, lead was stripped off the chapel roofs, and elements of Henry VIII's unfinished funeral monument were stolen. Following his execution in 1649, Charles I was buried in a small vault in the centre of the choir at St George's Chapel which also contained the coffins of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour. A programme of repair was undertaken at St George's Chapel following the Restoration of the monarchy.
The reign of Queen Victoria saw further changes made to the architecture of the chapel. The east end of the choir was reworked in devotion to Prince Albert; the Lady Chapel, which had been abandoned by Henry VII, was completed; a royal mausoleum was completed underneath the Lady Chapel; and a set of steps were built at the west end of the chapel to create a ceremonial entrance to the building.
On the roof of the chapel, standing on the pinnacles, and also on pinnacles on the sides, are seventy-six heraldic statues representing the Queen's (or King's) Beasts. They represent fourteen of the heraldic animals: the lion of England, the red dragon of Wales, the panther of Jane Seymour, the falcon of York, the black bull of Clarence, the yale of Beaufort, the white lion of Mortimer, the greyhound of Richmond, the white hart of Richard II, the collared silver antelope of Bohun, the black dragon of Ulster, the white swan of Hereford, the unicorn of Edward III and the golden hind of Kent.
The original beasts dated from the sixteenth century, but were removed in 1682 on the advice of Sir Christopher Wren. Wren had condemned the Reigate stone, the calcareous sandstone of which they were constructed. The present statues date from 1925, when the chapel was restored.
Members of the Order meet at Windsor Castle every June for the annual Garter Service. After lunch in the State Apartments in the Upper Ward of the Castle they process on foot, wearing their robes and insignia, down to St George's Chapel where the service is held. If any new members have been admitted to the Order they are installed at the service. After the service, the members of the order return to the Upper Ward by carriage or car.
The Order once enjoyed frequent services at the chapel, but, after becoming infrequent in the 18th century, they were discontinued after 1805. The ceremony was revived in 1948 by King George VI for the 600th anniversary of the founding of the Order, and has since become an annual event.
After their installation, members are each assigned a stall in the chapel choir above which his or her heraldic devices are displayed.
A member's sword is placed below a helm which is decorated with a mantling and topped by a crest, coronet or crown. Above this, a member's heraldic banner is flown emblazoned with his or her arms. A Garter stall plate, a small elaborately enamelled plate of brass, is affixed to the back of the stall displaying its member's name and arms with other inscriptions.
On a member's death, the sword, helm, mantling, crest, coronet or crown, and banner are removed. A ceremony marking the death of the late member must be held before the stall can be assigned to anyone else. This ceremony takes place in the chapel, during which the Military Knights of Windsor carry the banner of the deceased member and offer it to the Dean of Windsor, who places it on the altar.
The stall plates, however, are not removed; rather, they remain permanently affixed somewhere about the stall, so the stalls of the chapel are festooned with a colourful record of the members throughout history.
St George's Windsor is among the most important and ambitious medieval chantry foundations to have survived in England. The college, itself a medieval chantry, also contains a number of independent chantries in the form of altars and small chapels dedicated to various members of the English monarchy and also to a number of prominent courtiers, deans and canons. Masses, the Office and prayers would be offered in these chantries for the good of the founder. Interestingly, Henry VIII had intended a chantry to be set up in the Chapel, despite the fact that he instituted the religious changes which brought about the Reformation in England and the eventual suppression of chantries.
The status of the college as a royal foundation saved it from dissolution at the Reformation. As a result, many of the smaller chantries within the chapel were preserved. These are the only remaining chantries of their kind in England which have never formally been suppressed.
The St Ledger Chantry, forming the northern transept of St. George's Chapel, was founded in 1481 by Thomas St. Leger (c.1440–1483), second husband of Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter (1439–1476), the eldest surviving daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and thus elder sister to Kings Edward IV (1461–1483) and Richard III (1483–1485). It was later named the Rutland Chantry in honour of Anne's son-in-law George Manners, 11th Baron de Ros (whose effigy, with that of his wife Anne St Ledger, is situated in the chantry), father of Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland. A Monumental brass in memory of Anne of York and her husband Sir Thomas St Ledger survives on the east wall of the St Ledger Chantry, the inscription of which records that the chantry was founded "with two priests singing forevermore":
"Wythin thys Chappell lyethe beryed Anne Duchess of Exetur suster unto the noble kyng Edward the forte. And also the body of syr Thomas Sellynger knyght her husband which hathe funde within thys College a Chauntre with too prestys sy’gyng for ev’more. On whose soule god have mercy. The wych Anne duchess dyed in the yere of oure lorde M Thowsande CCCCl xxv"
The chapel has been the site of many royal weddings, particularly of the children of Queen Victoria. These weddings include:
- The Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863 (later King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra respectively)
- The Princess Helena and Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg in 1866
- The Princess Louise and the Marquess of Lorne (later Duke of Argyll) in 1871
- The Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia in 1879
- Princess Frederica of Hanover and Luitbert von Pawel Rammingen in 1880
- The Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany and Princess Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont in 1882
- Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein (daughter of Princess Christian) and Prince Aribert of Anhalt in 1891
- Princess Alice (daughter of the Duke of Albany) and Prince Alexander of Teck (later Earl of Athlone) in 1904
- Princess Margaret of Connaught (daughter of the Duke of Connaught) and Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden (later King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden) in 1905
- Lady Helena Cambridge (daughter of the Marquess of Cambridge, and niece of Queen Mary) and Major John Gibbs, Coldstream Guards in 1919 (non-royal)
- Anne Abel Smith (granddaughter of Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone) and David Liddell-Grainger in 1957 (non-royal)
- Lady Helen Windsor (daughter of The Duke of Kent) and Timothy Taylor in 1992
- The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999
- Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly in 2008
- The union of The Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005 received a blessing from The Archbishop of Canterbury.
The chapel has been the site of many royal funerals and interments. Persons interred here include:
- Edward IV, King of England (1461–1470; 1471–1483), in 1483
- Henry VI, King of England (1422–1461; 1470–1471), (reburial) in 1484
- Elizabeth Woodville, Queen Consort of Edward IV (1464–1483), on 12 June 1492
- Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom (1901–1910), on 20 May 1910
- Alexandra of Denmark, spouse of Edward VII (1863–1910), on 28 November 1925
- George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Bedford
- Mary of York
- the coffins of two unidentified children suggested to be Princes in the Tower
- Jane Seymour, Queen of England, in 1537
- Henry VIII, King of England and Ireland, in 1547
- Charles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, in 1649
- Stillborn son of Queen Anne (last monarch of the House of Stuart), in 1698.
- Princess Amelia of the United Kingdom in 1810
- Princess Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1813
- Princess Charlotte of Wales in 1817
- Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom, in 1818
- George III, King of the United Kingdom, in 1820
- Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn in 1820
- Princess Elizabeth of Clarence in 1821
- Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany in 1827
- George IV, King of the United Kingdom, in 1830
- William IV, King of the United Kingdom, in 1837
- Princess Augusta Sophia of the United Kingdom in 1840
- Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen of the United Kingdom, in 1849
- Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (1774–1850) (reburial) in 1930
- George V, King of Hanover, in 1878
- Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel (1797–1889) (reburial) in 1930
- Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge in 1897
- Francis, Duke of Teck in 1900
- George VI, King of the United Kingdom, died 1952. Interred 26 March 1969 following its construction. 
- Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (ashes), in 2002
- Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Queen of the United Kingdom, in 2002
Albert Memorial ChapelEdit
- William, 1st Baron Hastings (1431–1483), a nobleman and close friend of King Edward IV; in the north aisle of St George's Chapel, next to Edward IV.
- Anne St. Leger (1476 – 21 May 1526) and her husband George Manners, 11th Baron de Ros (22 Aug 1465 – 23 Oct 1513) in the private Rutland Chapel 
- Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, in 1545
- Christopher Villiers, 1st Earl of Anglesey, in 1631
- Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort (1629–1700) and his ancestors in the private Beaufort Chapel; the original monument by Grinling Gibbons was moved to St Michael and All Angels Church, Badminton, in 1878.
- Very Revd Dr Penyston Booth (1681–1765), Dean of Windsor
- Dejazmatch Alemayehu Tewodros, son of Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia, on 21 November 1879
- Choir of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
- Dean of Windsor
- Dean and Canons of Windsor
- Francis Eginton, artist, painted the arms of the knights of the Garter for two Gothic windows in the stalls.
- List of Knights and Ladies of the Garter
- List of Ladies of the Garter
- Order of the Garter
- Windsor Castle
- Historical monographs relating to St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle
- Royal Chapel of All Saints, a chapel in Windsor Great Park closely connected with St George's Chapel
- "Windsor Royal Beasts on St George's Chapel roof". Wordpress. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- London, H. Stanford (1953). The Queen's Beasts. Newman Neame. p. 15.
- "Sir Frederick Minter". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 15 July 1976. p. 19.
- Harry W Blackburne; Maurice Bond, The romance of St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, Published for the Society of the Friends of St. George's Chapel by Oxley, 1976, OCLC Number: 11267322
- "George Manners Archives - College of St George Archives Blog".
- "The Roos Monument in the Rutland Chantry Chapel - College of St George Archives Blog". 10 September 2010.
- St George's Chapel, Windsor: The Beaufort Chantry, 19 July 2013
- Begent, P.J. and Chesshyre, H. The Most Noble Order of the Garter: 650 Years. Spink and Son Ltd. 1999, ISBN 1-902040-20-1
- Laurence Keen and Eileen Scarff, ed. Windsor: Medieval Archaeology, Art and Architecture of the Thames Valley. Manley Publishing. 2002, ISBN 1-902653-45-9
- Nigel Saul, ed. St George's Chapel Windsor in the Fourteenth Century. The Boydell Press. 2005, ISBN 1-84383-117-1
- Eileen Scarff and Colin Richmond, ed. St George's Chapel, Windsor, in the Late Middle Ages. Windsor. 2001, ISBN 0-9539676-1-1