In anticipation of receiving an invitation to the wedding thought best to read-up on the above from a booklet have had for years (must have been bought on a visit to the town, not the castle, back in the early 1980s). The man-made mound of the original motte-and-bailey castle survives with the keep having some 12th century masonry at its base but the visible upper part (centre-right in picture) being re-built in 19th century. The above photo shows the north façade of the castle complex, this on sharply rising land at the edge of the River Thames floodplain and overlooking Eton on the far valley side.
St. George’s Chapel is, like King’s College, Cambridge, a classic example of the High Perpendicular style of late medieval architecture having been mostly built during the reign of Henry VII (1485-1509). A number of past British monarchs were buried here in the vault or ornate table tombs (chapels), this including some rather restless (one might imagine) neighbours such as Edward IV and Henry VI. Others include Henry VIII and Jane Seymour (his third wife and mother of the boy king Edward VI), Charles I (executed 1649), George III, Edward VII and Queen Alexandra (restless neighbours indeed) and George VI (father of Queen Elizabeth II), whether the present queen will join him remains to be seen. So in that respect the choice of St. George’s Chapel for the wedding is an obvious alternative to Westminster Abbey.
Windsor Castle was one of a number of Norman motte-and-bailey castles initially constructed in the late 11th century around London, satellites to its motte-and-bailey castle later to become known as the Tower of London.