The office of Ranger of Windsor Great Park was established to oversee the protection and maintenance of the Great Park at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. The ranger has always been somebody close to the monarch.
Apart from a single 15th century reference to the office, it appears to have been created in 1601. From the time of appointment of Baptist May - often claimed to be the most trusted friend of King Charles II [1] - the ranger has been given the use of the Great Lodge (now called Cumberland Lodge) as a residence. One of the most famous rangers was Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, who was given the position by her friend, Queen Anne, in 1702. Officially, at least, she shared the office with other family members. After her death, the rangership was given to successive trusted friends and family members of the British royal family. The office is currently held by King Charles III.
Cumberland Lodge within the Park ceased to be the official residence for the rangers in 1917. In 1947, King George VI gave the house to the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Foundation of St Katharine's, who continue to have the use of the building.
The Ranger's role is to guide the direction and overall operations of the Park. The former ranger (Prince Philip) had tried to make it more open to the public, more sustainable, and to keep it going for future generations. In an interview for the BBC TV programme "The Queen's Castle" he gave a tour of the Park, explained his thoughts and actions in making decisions to open the Farm Shop, cut down trees, move various facilities, and to open up the park to deer as well as people. [8]
James FitzJames Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, (1665–1745) was an Irish statesman and soldier. He was the third of the Kilcash branch of the family to inherit the earldom of Ormond. Like his grandfather, the 1st Duke, he was raised as a Protestant, unlike his extended family who held to Roman Catholicism. He served in the campaign to put down the Monmouth Rebellion, in the Williamite War in Ireland, in the Nine Years' War and in the War of the Spanish Succession but was accused of treason and went into exile after the Jacobite rising of 1715.
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, was the fourth son and fifth child of King George III. His only child, Victoria, became Queen of the United Kingdom 17 years after his death.
The Royal Marriages Act 1772 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which prescribed the conditions under which members of the British royal family could contract a valid marriage, in order to guard against marriages that could diminish the status of the royal house. The right of veto vested in the sovereign by this Act provoked severe adverse criticism at the time of its passage.
Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II's cousin.
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Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. From 1917 her name was simply Princess Helena Victoria.
Ernest Augustus ; 17 November 1887 – 30 January 1953) was Duke of Brunswick from 2 November 1913 to 8 November 1918. He was a grandson of George V of Hanover, thus a Prince of Hanover and a Prince of the United Kingdom. He was also a maternal grandson of Christian IX of Denmark and the son-in-law of German Emperor Wilhelm II. The Prussians had deposed King George from the Hanoverian throne in 1866, but his marriage ended the decades-long feud between the Prussians and the Hanoverians.
Thomas Sandby was an English draughtsman, watercolour artist, architect and teacher. In 1743 he was appointed private secretary to the Duke of Cumberland, who later appointed him Deputy Ranger of Windsor Great Park, where he was responsible for considerable landscaping work.
Princess Sophia of Gloucester was a great-granddaughter of King George II of Great Britain and niece of King George III.
Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of 2,020 hectares, including a deer park, to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private 265 hectares Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park was, for many centuries, the private hunting ground of Windsor Castle and dates primarily from the mid-13th century. Historically the park covered an area many times the current size known as Windsor Forest, Windsor Royal Park or its current name. The park is managed and funded by the Crown Estate, and is the only royal park not managed by The Royal Parks. Most parts of the park are open to the public, free of charge, from dawn to dusk, although there is a charge to enter Savill Garden.
Bagshot Park is a royal residence located near Bagshot, a village 11 miles (18 km) south of Windsor. It is on Bagshot Heath, a 50-square-mile (130 km2) tract of formerly open land in Surrey and Berkshire. Bagshot Park occupies 51 acres (21 ha) within the designated area of Windsor Great Park.
Royal Lodge is a Grade II listed house in Windsor Great Park in Berkshire, England, half a mile north of Cumberland Lodge and 3.2 miles (5.1 km) south of Windsor Castle. Part of the Crown Estate, it was the Windsor residence of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from 1952 until she died there in 2002, at the age of 101. In 2004 it became the official country residence of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and his family. In 2023 it was reported that Andrew had been offered the smaller five-bedroom Frogmore Cottage instead, until then the UK residence of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his family, who were requested to vacate by Buckingham Palace.
Cumberland Lodge is a 17th-century Grade II listed country house in Windsor Great Park 3.5 miles south of Windsor Castle. Since 1947 it has been occupied by the charitable foundation known as Cumberland Lodge, which holds residential conferences, lectures and discussions about social and ethical issues. The gardens of Cumberland Lodge are Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
Baptist May (1628–1698) was a Royal courtier during the reign of Charles II of England. He is said to have been Charles's closest and most trusted servant, largely as a result of his knowledge that the king did not like to be approached on matters of business.
Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being first used in 1718. The duties of the Lords and Gentleman of the Bedchamber originally consisted of assisting the monarch with dressing, waiting on him when he ate, guarding access to his bedchamber and closet and providing companionship. Such functions became less important over time, but provided proximity to the monarch; the holders were thus trusted confidants and often extremely powerful. The offices were in the gift of The Crown and were originally sworn by Royal Warrant directed to the Lord Chamberlain.
Edward VIII, later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1936 until his abdication in December of the same year.
St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is a Royal Peculiar, and the Chapel of the Order of the Garter. St George's Chapel was founded in the 14th century by King Edward III and extensively enlarged in the late 15th century. It is located in the Lower Ward of the castle.
The Royal Chapel of All Saints or Queen Victoria's Chapel is a Grade II listed church in the grounds of the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, Berkshire, England and is a Royal Peculiar, serving as an informal parish church for the inhabitants and staff of the Windsor Great Park. Services at the chapel are often attended by members of the British royal family, and Queen Elizabeth II regularly worshipped at the church for reasons of privacy. The chaplaincy of the Royal Chapel All Saints is held by one of the Canons of the College of St George at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
The state funeral of Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, occurred on 2 February 1901, after her death on 22 January. It was one of the largest gatherings of European royalty.