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THE ROYAL COLLECTION

Royal Archives

Image of volumes in the Royal Archives

Explore Royal Archives

      Windsor Castle ©

      The iconic Round Tower of Windsor Castle is home to the Royal Archives – a unique collection of 12 million documents relating to the history of the British Monarchy over the last 300 years. The Royal Archives preserves the personal and official correspondence of monarchs from George III (1760-1820) onwards, as well as administrative records of the departments of the Royal Household.

      From diaries and personal letters to speeches, account books and correspondence with government, the collections held by the Royal Archives record and reflect some of the most significant moments in British and global history and provide a fascinating insight into the life and work of past monarchs, their families, households and residences. The papers are extensively used by archive researchers both on site and online.

      The Royal Archives were first established during the early years of the reign of George V. The need for an archive for the papers of the Royal Family and the Royal Household had become evident only a few years earlier, following the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. Previously, historic records had been stored in tin trunks, cupboards and storerooms in the various royal residences, with no appointed archivist to care for them. However, the legacy left by Queen Victoria’s 63-year reign, in the form of a vast collection of official and private correspondence, required a permanent home.

      Archives in the Muniment Room, Royal Archives©

      Queen Victoria’s son, Edward VII, appointed Lord Esher as the first Keeper of the Royal Archives shortly after Victoria’s death. A few years later, following George V’s declaration in 1912 that ‘All the Royal Archives shall be kept in a Strong Room or Rooms in the Round Tower’, work began to construct a Muniment Room in the top half of the medieval Great Hall in the Round Tower. The first records were transferred to the new Muniment Room in 1914.

      Other collections were soon added to the Victorian records, including the papers of George III and George IV, the military papers of the Duke of Cumberland and the papers of the exiled Stuarts after 1688. Private papers of earlier Sovereigns and members of their families have not survived for the most part. Surviving official correspondence of Sovereigns before George III can be found in The National Archives.

      Over the last few decades, the Royal Archives has grown rapidly. The official papers of George V, Edward VIII and George VI have all been added, as have the private correspondence and diaries of George V and Queen Mary. Papers of other members of the Royal Family have also been placed in the Royal Archives, including those of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Today, the Royal Archives are taking in and processing the records of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.


      The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Royal Collection Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.