Explore the treasures of The Royal Library at Windsor Castle.

The Royal Library we see today contains around 45,000 books and manuscripts from the Royal Collection. Some of the books date to the Tudor period or even earlier but the Library itself is only around 200 years old. It was established in the 1830s by William IV after two previous Royal Libraries had been given to the nation. When William IV re-established the Royal Library he chose a location as Windsor Castle and he ensured that the Library itself was inalienable from the crown meaning that it can't ever be given away again. He and his librarians brought together books from private libraries of George III and George IV. The three rooms which house the Royal Library today were converted from rooms which had been part of the State Apartments here at Windsor Castle. Room 1 was part of a tower built by Edward III in the 14th century and was later used as a state bedchamber by Catherine of Braganza who was the Queen of Charles II. The second room, Room 2, is part of a tower built during the reign of Henry VII and in this tower were his bedchamber, his treasury and his study where he probably had a collection of books. The ceiling of Room 2 reflects the Tudor heritage although it is from the Victorian period you can see Henry VII's coat of arms on the ceiling. Room 3 where I am sitting now was built during the reign of Elizabeth I and it may have been an indoor walking gallery. It would also have been a place for learned discussions and reading. In Room 3 is a magnificent Tudor fireplace. It has its date rendered rather unusually as 1583 or 1583. In 1860 during the reign of Queen Victoria her consort Prince Albert wanted to rearrange the library and with his librarian Bernard Woodward he sought to ensure that it was arranged so that it could be used. The library had been shelved by size and as there was no catalogue it was quite difficult to find the books so under Prince Albert's watchful eye the library was reorganised by subject and the subject order that they put in place is largely the one that we still use today. The books in Room 1 are dedicated to history. In Room 2 you'll find books on language, travel, geography, antiquities, music and fashion while in Room 3 which contains the largest amount of books of all the rooms covers the subjects of literature, natural history and science, biography and military history as well as religion. You'll notice that I'm not wearing gloves. When it comes to handling books the best practice is to have clean dry hands with no hand cream and no nail varnish. If you wear gloves you're less dexterous and more likely to tear the pages but with your bare hands you can turn the pages really carefully. The library contains many of the treasures of the Royal Collection. Amongst its collection of early printed books are those printed by William Caxton who was the first English printer and he set up a press in Westminster in the 1470s. Among other early printed books are copies of the first folio and second folio of the collected works of William Shakespeare. The first folio is quite well known and very famous but in the Royal Library for us it is the second edition or the second folio which is even more significant. This is one that was owned by Charles I and he read it while he was imprisoned here at Windsor Castle and he also annotated it. He wrote Don Spirospero which is Latin for while I breathe I hope. The books are not limited to printed material. Some of the Royal Library's most visually striking volumes are handwritten and hand painted. The Sobieski Hours is one such example, a book of Christian prayers produced in 15th century France and it's famous for its hundreds of images bringing to life historic personalities, biblical narratives, charming interiors and sweeping landscapes with fairy tale castles, rural delights and genteel pastimes. From Asia the most dazzling books are a 16th century copy of the Shahnama, the national epic of Iran and the Mughal Pachanama, a 17th century chronicle commissioned by Emperor Shah Jahan as a celebration of his reign and dynasty. Other handwritten materials include a score composed by the 11 year old Mozart which was purchased by Prince Albert and then placed in the Royal Library. Royal collectors also showed great interest in the manuscripts of literary giants. When Princess of Wales, Queen Mary who was the consort of King George V acquired Charles Dickens' short story To Be Read at Dusk and Lord Byron's tragedy The Two Foscari. They joined the existing collection of literary manuscripts which includes the handwritten draft of Thomas Hardy's book The Trumpet Major. Finally a more literal giant is the library's copy of Audubon's illustrated Birds of America which takes two people to move and turn the pages. At the other end of the spectrum are the miniature books of Queen Mary Stowell's house which are only around four centimetres high. While many of the books in the Royal Library were given as gifts it is largely thanks to the work of royal bibliophiles that we can enjoy such a rich collection. These included Queen Victoria and Prince Albert who were enthusiastic readers. Amongst the books in the library we have their copy of Jane Eyre which they read to each other in the evenings and which Queen Victoria wrote about in her journal. We also have the copy of the book that Queen Victoria was reading to Prince Albert as he was dying. This is Sir Walter Scott's Peril of the Peak and Queen Victoria marked the page she last read to her husband with mourning paper. Although the Royal Library today houses around 45,000 volumes in its three rooms it is actually responsible for over 200,000 items across the Royal Residences. The library team receives and stores books which are official gifts to the monarch, catalogues new and historic material and carries out research on the collection. They display the books within the library itself in public exhibitions and online. Just below the library the conservators and book binders of the Royal Boundary work to preserve the books so that they may be enjoyed by many generations to come. While the Royal Library is closed to the general public researchers are welcome to visit to examine unique material and visiting groups including students and school children can enjoy the rich collections. The books in the Royal Library reflect the intellectual history of the British monarchy. It's an outstanding collection full of treasures and exciting works. Their legacy continues in King Charles III and Queen Camilla who are both passionate about literature and who are both contributing to the collections and work of the Royal Library. And the work of the Royal Collection Trust is to ensure that the books of the Royal Library are preserved and researched for the benefit of many generations to come.