Constables and Governors of Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle, from above

The Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle is in charge of Windsor Castle in England on behalf of the sovereign. The day-to-day operations are under the Superintendent, who is an officer of the Master of the Household's Department of the Royal Household.

The Constable receives no salary, but has a residence in the Castle. From 1833-1957, the office was mostly filled by a member of the Royal Family, but now it is held by a senior retired officer of the armed forces of the Crown. He is the representative of the Lord Chamberlain within the Castle. The Constable also has nominal charge of its garrison, including the Windsor Castle Guard of the Foot Guards of the Household Division, as well as of the Military Knights of Windsor. Since 1668, the previously subordinate post of Governor has always been jointly held with that of Constable. ^[1] A special uniform is prescribed for the Constable and Governor (similar to the full dress uniform of a General officer, but with scarlet collar and cuffs on a blue tunic rather than vice versa); ^[2] alternatively (and more often than not) service uniform may be worn.

There was a Deputy Constable and Lieutenant-Governor from 1833 to 1989. From 1964, he was also Governor of the Military Knights of Windsor until the office was abolished in 1989. At one time there was also a separate Constable of the Round Tower. From 1928 to 1935 this was held jointly with the post of Deputy Constable.

The following is a list, as complete as can be compiled from sources at present available, of the castellans, keepers and constables of Windsor Castle:

List of Constables of Windsor Castle

Those appointed since 1668 have been Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle. ^[1]

Name	From	To	Notes
Walter FitzOther	1086	1100
William FitzWalter de Windsor (son)	1100	c.1153
Richard de Luci	1153	1179
Hugh de Puiset	1190	1190	Earl of Northumberland and Bishop of Durham
William de Longchamp	1191 (seized office)	1191	Bishop of Ely and Chancellor of England
William d'Aubigny, 2nd Earl of Arundel	1191	1191
William de Longchamp	1191 (again seized office)	1191	Bishop of Ely and Chancellor of England
Hubert Walter	1191	1193	Bishop of Salisbury then Archbishop of Canterbury
Hubert de Burgh	1200	1200
John FitzHugh	1201	1204
Robert de Vipont	1204	1205
John FitzHugh	1205	1216
Engelard de Cigogné	1216	1223
Stephen Langton	1223	1224	Archbishop of Canterbury
William de Rughedon	1224	1224
Osbert Giffard	1224	1224
Ralph Tirel	1224	1225
Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent	1226	1233
William de Millers	1228
Waleran Tyes	1231
Alan de Crepping	1231
Stephen de Segrave	1232
Henry de Passelewe	1233
Engelard de Cigogné	1234
Bernard of Savoy	1242
Pierre de Genève	1248
Maud de Lacy	1249		widow of Peter of Geneva
Aymon Thurumbert	1257	1261
John de Sancta Elena	1261	1263
Sir Giles de Argentine	1263
Drew de Barentyne	1264
Geoffrey de Langley	1264
John FitzJohn	1264
John of London	1266
Ebulo de Montibus	1266
Nicholas de Yattendon	1269
Hugh de Dyne	1269
Geoffrey de Pickford	1272
John of London	1298
Roger le Sauvage	1305	1308
Robert de Haustede	1308
Warin de Lisle	1309	1319
Oliver de Bordeaux	1319
Ralph de Camoys, 3rd Baron Camoys	1319	1326
Thomas de Huntercombe	1326	1327	Also known as de Hodeng of Eton and Burnham
John de Lisle	1327
Thomas Foxley	1328	1360	Also known as de Foxle; of Foxley Manor at Bray and Bramshill Castle
Richard de la Vache	1360
Thomas Cheney	1365
Helming Legatte	1369
Sir Simon de Burley	1377
Thomas Tyle	1389
Sir Peter Courtenay	1390
Sir Hugh Waterton	1405
Sir John Stanley	1408	1413
John Wintershull	1413		deputy constable
John Waterton	1414	1417	Master of the Horse
Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset	1438	1455
Admiral William Nevill jointly with John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners	1455		Neville: Baron Fauconberg and Earl of Kent
John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners jointly with his son Sir Humphrey Bourchier	1466	1471
John Bourchier, 1st Baron Berners	1471	1474
Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford	1474	1477
Sir John Elrington	1483	1484
Thomas Windsor of Stanwell	1484	1485
Sir Thomas Bourchier	1485
Sir Thomas Bourchier jointly with Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney	1495
Sir Thomas Bourchier jointly with Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex	1511
Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter	1525	1539
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester	1559		KG
Charles Howard, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham	1590		later 1st Earl of Nottingham
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham	1624	1628
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland	1628	1648
Philip Herbert, 5th Earl of Pembroke and 2nd Earl of Montgomery	1648
Colonel John Venn	1648	1653
Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke	1653	1657
Colonel Sir John Lenthall	1657	1660
John Mordaunt, 1st Viscount Mordaunt	1660	1668
Prince Rupert of the Rhine	1668	1682
Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk	1682	1701
George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland	1701	1716
Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham	1716	1723
Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle	1723	1730
Charles Beauclerk, 2nd Duke of St Albans	1730	1751
George Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu	1752	1790
James Brudenell, 5th Earl of Cardigan	1791	1811
Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington	1812	1829
Henry Conyngham, 1st Marquess Conyngham	1829	1832
Major General George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster	1833	1842	Son of King William IV
Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex	1842	1843	Son of King George III, uncle of then Queen Victoria
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha	1843	1861	The Prince Consort
Vice Admiral Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Langenburg	1867	1891
John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll	1892	1914
Adolphus Cambridge, 1st Marquess of Cambridge	1914	1927
Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher	1928	1930
Major General Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone	4 Aug 1931	1957	Gazette Entry Brother-in-law of George V
vacant	1957	18 Jun 1964	Gazette Entry
Field Marshal William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim	18 Jun 1964	1970	Gazette Entry
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Elworthy, Baron Elworthy	1971	11 Aug 1978	Gazette Entry
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Grandy	11 Aug 1978	9 Feb 1988	Gazette Entry Gazette Entry
Admiral Sir David Hallifax	9 Feb 1988	1992	Gazette Entry
General Sir Patrick Palmer	1992	2000
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Johns	2000	2008
Surgeon Vice-Admiral Ian L. Jenkins	1 Feb 2008	19 Feb 2009	Died in post
Air Marshal Sir Ian Macfadyen	10 Aug 2009	2014	Court & Social [ dead link ]
Admiral Sir James Perowne	2014	2022
Lieutenant General Philip Jones	2022

List of Deputy Constables and Lieutenant-Governors of Windsor Castle

Please note this list is incomplete.

Name	From	To	Notes
Major General George Scott	c.1782		Deputy Governor
Major-General Sir John Clayton Cowell	1866	1894	[3]
Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher	23 Jul 1901	19 Jan 1928	[4]
Major Frederick Ponsonby, 1st Baron Sysonby	9 Jan 1928	20 October 1935	[5]
Colonel Clive Wigram, 1st Baron Wigram	20 July 1936	6 April 1945	[6]
Brigadier General Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie	6 Apr 1945	1 Mar 1953	[7]
Lieutenant General Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg	1 Mar 1953	4 Jul 1963	[8]
Field Marshal William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim	5 Jul 1963	4 Sep 1964	[9]
Major General Sir Edmund Hakewill-Smith	4 Sep 1964	31 Dec 1972	[10] [11]
Major General Sir Peter Gillett	1978	1989

Sources

• Ditchfield, P H; Page, William, eds. (1923). "Windsor castle: History". A History of the County of Berkshire. Vol. 3. London: Victoria County History. pp. 5–29, esp. 24 – via British History Online.^{[ obsolete source ] [12]}

References

1. Ditchfield and Page 1923 p. 20
2. "Army Dress Regulations part 12" (PDF). What do they know?. Ministry of Defence. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
3. "Sir John Cowell". Obituaries. The Times. No. 34356. London. 30 August 1894. col E, p. 8.
4. London Gazette, issue no.27336, 23 July 1901
5. London Gazette, issue no.33346, 10 January 1928
6. London Gazette, issue no.34306, 20 July 1936
7. London Gazette, issue no.37019, 6 April 1945
8. London Gazette, issue no.39731, 3 March 1953
9. London Gazette, issue no.43098, 3 September 1963
10. London Gazette, issue no.39791, 4 September 1964
11. London Gazette, issue no.45868, 2 January 1973
12. The Wikipedia list is based on a 1923 source. corrections to which were made in the following:— Bond, Shelagh (1967). "The Medieval Constables of Windsor Castle". The English Historical Review. LXXXII (CCCXXIII): 225–249. doi:10.1093/ehr/LXXXII.CCCXXIII.225. JSTOR   560383.