935: Fire at Windsor Castle
History Daily
History Daily
4.4 • 2.5K Ratings
🗓️ 20 November 2024
⏱️ 19 minutes
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Summary
November 20, 1992. Windsor castle catches fire at the end of an “annus horribilis” for Queen Elizabeth II, raising questions about the cost and future of the British monarchy. This episode originally aired in 2023.
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Transcript
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| 0:28.9 | Okay. It's 11.15 a.m. on November 20, 1992, at Windsor Castle, a residence of Queen Elizabeth II in Berkshire, England. |
| 0:34.4 | A historic paintings conservator walks into the Queen's private chapel with a member |
| 0:38.7 | of the Windsor Castle staff. The conservator is here to examine several paintings which need |
| 0:43.9 | protecting to safeguard them for future generations. But he's distracted by an odd odor inside the |
| 0:50.1 | chapel. It smells like smoke. The conservator mentions this to the castle official, |
| 0:55.7 | but he's assured that it's probably just dust. Satisfied that the smell is just a normal odor |
| 1:01.5 | of an ancient property, the conservator sets up a step-ladder and climbs up to examine one of the |
| 1:06.6 | works of art that he's been asked to preserve. He appears at the cracked paint through a magnifying |
| 1:11.5 | glass, but the smell he noticed earlier is growing stronger. The conservator looks around the chapel, |
| 1:17.5 | and from his elevated position, he spots smoke near the ceiling at the top of a long curtain. |
| 1:22.9 | The conservator clamors down the ladder and pulls the heavy curtain aside, revealing that |
| 1:27.4 | part of it is on fire. The conservator shouts down the ladder and pulls the heavy curtain aside, revealing that part of it is on fire. |
| 1:29.3 | The conservator shouts a warning to the castle official, and they exchange panicked looks. |
| 1:34.3 | The official runs out of the chapel, saying he'll call for help. |
| 1:37.3 | Meanwhile, the conservator searches the room for a fire extinguisher, but can find none. |
| 1:42.3 | He stands helpless as flames e-through the curtain's heavy velvet. |
| 1:47.0 | It's spreading quickly. The conservator's eyes drift to the painting he just examined. |
| 1:52.0 | He takes a screwdriver from his toolbox and begins unscrewing the frame from the wall. |
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