It's easy to assume that the Tower of London holds the title for the most haunted royal property, thanks to its grisly history of torture and executions. But it turns out there are other historical dwellings in the running.
It has long been said that Windsor Castle is the most haunted of all the current and former royal homes, with more than 25 reported sightings of ghosts and spirits. Queen Elizabeth I, King Henry VIII and King George III, even the late Queen and her sister Princess Margaret are among the royals who claimed they had felt a ghostly encounter.
Whether you believe in the presence of ghosts or not, these stories of everything from hobbling ghosts to saluting soldiers and stolen bones will certainly send a shiver down your spine.
When you think back across royal history, Windsor Castle has always been one of the key players as the construction was started back in 1070 and has been used by almost every monarch since King Henry I.
It is well-known that the Berkshire castle was a favourite home of the late Queen as she moved there permanently at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But it would seem that she wasn't the only monarch in residence when she was there as there have been constant reports over the years of former Kings and Queens reappearing.
These ghostly sightings are said to happen so often that it has even been recorded where you are most likely to see individual monarchs.
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For example, if you wish to see Queen Elizabeth I then you need to wait in the library. According to Visit Britain, “[The Queen’s] footsteps can be heard on the bare floorboards, before her striking presence appears.”
The late Queen even claimed that she and her sister Princess Margaret witnessed paranormal activity in the castle and believed it to be an apparition of her namesake Elizabeth I.
Similarly, if you wanted to see the mad and eccentric King George III you would want to be in the room below the library.
Towards the end of his reign the king became increasingly mentally ill that he was confined in this room for long periods of the day. Witnesses describe seeing a figure “looking longingly out of the window”.
George III has not only been spotted in this room, but also in a bedroom of the castle. An officer gave his account of the ghostly, yet heart-warming, sighting days after the king’s passing while he was still lying in state.
The story goes that the guards were passing the king’s window on their duties when the commanding officer saw the distinctive figure of the king standing in his usual place, watching the parade.
Instinctively he gave the order "eyes right," and as they swung round each soldier saw the figure and watched as the late king returned their salute.
There are also records of hearing the “hobbling” ghost of King Henry VIII in the deanery cloisters. The hugely obese king suffered from gout and painful ulcers on his leg, making it difficult to walk.
Another shocking story happened during the reign of King George IV as he and his doctor Sir Henry Halford went underneath St George's Chapel and opened the tombs of Charles I and Henry VIII.
He was so interested in the bodies of his dead ancestors that he allowed Halford to draw Charles I’s face.
The existing drawing is currently kept at the National Portrait Gallery.
It is said that due of the change in pressure after the seal of the coffin was broken, King Charles’ eye 'popped'. He also allowed Halford to take a souvenir - the king’s cervical vertebrae.
The bone was handed down through generations before it was given to the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII).
His mother, Queen Victoria was outraged and had it reinterred in a box next to the king.
