Is Windsor Castle Really Haunted By This Royal Ghost?

Britain's longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has seen a lot in her lifetime. At 95 years old, she's lived through world wars, political upheaval, several technology booms, and even a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Through it all, she's made a comfortable home for herself at Windsor Castle, where she is resting as of this writing after a recent night in the hospital for undisclosed health reasons (via Reuters). While the monarch's home base is Buckingham Palace in London, several monarchs through the centuries have made their second home at Windsor Castle and are said to haunt the halls, according to Great Castles.

Windsor Castle, the oldest inhabited castle in England, has seen some of Britain's most famous monarchs, including George III (also known as Mad King George), and Charles I. Great Castles claimed the ghosts of these men have been spotted at different points in history, but Queen Elizabeth II and her late sister Margaret are said to have been visited by the Q=queen's namesake who reigned as a solo monarch for a quarter of a century.

Queen Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Like Queen Elizabeth II, Elizabeth I was never meant to be queen. Both women were born to royal spares who weren't expected to ascend to the throne — Henry VIII ended up becoming king due to his older brother's death, while Elizabeth found herself in the line of succession after her uncle abdicated, leaving her father as the heir to the throne (via Royal.uk).

According to Hello, Queen Elizabeth I spent a great deal of time at Windsor Castle, just like Queen Elizabeth II does today. In fact, she and her younger sister, Princess Margaret reportedly saw Queen Elizabeth I, also known as the Virgin Queen because she never wed. Express reports that she was said to be pacing back and forth in the castle's library wearing high heels.

In fact, the queen and her sister were not the only people to say they saw Queen Elizabeth I haunting Windsor Castle. According to the book "Haunted Britain" (via Great Castles), a 19th-century guard was sitting outside the library in 1897 and saw a woman dressed all in black walk by. He tried to follow her, but she then disappeared without a trace. When he asked a servant if they had seen anyone, he was told no, but that servant did reportedly plant a seed in the guard's brain that the Virgin Queen had paid him a ghostly visit.

According to Hello, dozens of ghosts of late royals and others have been seen at Windsor Castle through the years, including Henry VIII dragging his old, injured, and bloated body across the floor. Still, we think that the ghost of Queen Elizabeth I visiting her namesake is the most meaningful ghostly apperance of all.