Search - Windsor Castle - A Royal Year on DVD

Very Interesting!

M. Fields | Brooklyn, New York USA | 02/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an inside look at the inner workings of Windsor Castle that most folks don't get to see. Planning a royal party is like planning a battle. Everything has to be exact and perfect. The dining table is so long that a man has to walk on the table with special shoes just so he can light the candles. After these grand dinner parties, the queen ensures that the floral arrangements are delivered to different charities. You can see and hear from the people that have to run this huge palace. Also shown are some rooms that are not open to the general public. You can even see the cast of Les Misarables move their show to the house of Windsor for a special performance. You know you're rich when all you have to do is snap your fingers and bring a whole musical to your home. There's a lot of great info here. Even the man that changes the flags makes an appearance. He's the guy that changes the flag as soon as the queen leaves or comes back home. If you are interested in the royals, this dvd is for you. It's full of wonderful factoids. It's also great for the kids."

Very interesting behind the scenes look at Windsor Castle

A. Burchfield | Conway, Missouri USA | 03/14/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'd known about the British PAL format version for months and was glad to see it finally broadcast on PBS, then available on DVD for the U.S. market.
This DVD set is well worth owning for anyone for anyone who has been to Windsor Castle or is just thinking about touring it even if you could care less about the Royal family. Split into three segments and covering events over a years time in 2004-2005 there is something for everyone to see.
Lot's of interesting detail and behind the scenes looks at things as the castle and grounds are prepared for a variety of events and occaisions. I would expect that there are details presented that even many long time employees haven't seen about the place. If you can't stand the Royal family, don't worry- the Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Philip) is the only member of the family to actually speak on camera or even have much screen time, he isn't bad either.
I was surprised at some of the things I saw and learned- I don't regret owning this DVD set one bit. My only complaint(s) about the set concern the second disc with it's additional unbroadcast footage. You'll want to look at the menu, it let's you either watch every selection or choose what you want to see. I found that many of the items consisted of extended selections of bits covered in the main program selections, if you got enough of it the first time through you'll want to skip some parts. I also noticed, on the second disc, that if you don't quite catch what someone says you're out of luck because there's no closed captioning to help out, and no subtitling. I didn't check Disc 1 for subtitling but it is, as the case says, closed captioned if you happen to want that function."

A Brilliant Documentaray About the People who Live & Work at

M. Hart | USA | 02/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The 2006 documentary "Windsor Castle-A Royal Year" (called "The Queen's Castle" in Britain where it was released in 2005) is an amazing glimpse into the lives of various people that work, and sometimes live, within the walls of one of the world's few remaining royal residences: Window Castle. With approval from Queen Elizabeth II, no other documentarians have ever been granted such personal access to the castle's staff, its inner workings and the royal family. The three episodes are described below:

1. "The Banquet". This episode focuses on the kitchen staff, the flagman, the people that maintain the artwork, the military knights and the others involved with managing a large state dinner whose planning began six months in advance and was held at Windsor by Queen Elizabeth II and her family for President Chirac of France and his wife, as well as over 300 invited guests. This includes documenting what was an unprecedented setup of a live performance of the musical "Les Miserables" that was performed immediately after the banquet. Staff worker were naturally concerned because it was a hot spotlight that had started the serious fire that severely damaged part of Windor Castle in 1992.

2. "Four Seasons". This episode focuses on the young military knights that guard Windsor Castle and old military personnel that are involved in annual events, including the "Order of the Garter" ceremony that is held each year in June. The prepartions, rehearsals and actual ceremony of the "Order of the Garter" are also shown, as well as an interesting glimpse into the staff of Saint George's chapel who want to improve the chapel's gift shop. Also included is a look at the activies surrounding the famous Royal Ascot horse races, which includes a look at the bookies who take bets on what color the Queen's hat will be each day, as well as the race that included one of the Queen's horses. The episode ends with the staff, in December, singing Christmas carols to the Queen, who comes outside to listen to them and provide them with refreshments.

3. "The Ranger". This fascinating episode focuses on the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, who is also the Ranger that manages the vast estate upon which Windor Castle is located. He describes various areas of the estate and how they have been used, they're history and how they have been changed over the years. Also included is a look at Cartier International Day, which is the biggest day on the British polo calendar, which includes Prince Harry who leads the British polo team against a team from South America.

Overall, I rate the documentary "Windsor Castle-A Royal Year" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it. The wonderful DVD set includes an additional 132 minutes (over 2 hours) of footage that was not aired on television with the three episodes.
"

One of the best!

M. Holzerland | 01/21/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an incredible DVD of the Royal Family. They take you through the castle, watching the kitchen staff prepare meals, watching the cleaning people do their work, and so much more. All in all a very satisfying and entertaining DVD for the Royal watchers!"