Windsor, British royal family

Windsor (wĭn`zər), family name of the royal house of Great Britain. The name Wettin, family name of Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, consort of Queen Victoria, was changed to Windsor by George V in 1917. The new name was adopted by all members of the family. In 1952, Queen Elizabeth II, who married Philip Mountbatten, duke of Edinburgh, decreed that she and her descendants (other than females who marry) should retain the name Windsor. A declaration of 1960, however, restricted the name to those descendants bearing the title prince or princess (i.e., the sovereign's children, the children of the sovereign's sons, and the eldest son of the eldest son of the prince of Wales); all other descendants are to be known as Mountbatten-Windsor.

Windsor, cities, Canada

Windsor.

1 Town (1991 pop. 3,625), central N.S., Canada, at the mouth of the Avon River on an arm of Minas Basin. It is the center of a gypsum and limestone-quarrying area. Manufactures include fertilizers, building materials, and lumber products. Windsor was settled by Acadians (1703) and called Pisiquid. After their expulsion it was settled by New Englanders and renamed in 1764. It is the site of Fort Edward, built (1750) by the British. King's College, the first English university in Canada, was founded in Windsor in 1789 but moved in 1923 to Halifax as part of Dalhousie Univ. Windsor claims to be the cradle of Canadian hockey, on the basis of evidence in T. C. Haliburton Haliburton, Thomas Chandler (hăl`ĭbûrtən), pseud.
..... Click the link for more information. 's The Attaché.

2 City (1991 pop. 191,435), S Ont., Canada, on the Detroit River opposite Detroit, Mich. It is Canada's leading port of entry from the United States and is in a rich agricultural region. Its manufactures include automobiles, industrial machinery, food and beverages, salt, and chemicals. The city was settled by the French in 1749. After the American Revolution many Loyalists settled in the area. In the early 20th cent., when Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and other automobile companies built plants in the area, Windsor was known as the "Auto Capital of the British Empire." The former suburb of Sandwich was merged with Windsor in 1935. The city is the seat of Windsor Univ.

Windsor, town, England

Windsor, town (1991 pop. 31,544), Windsor and Maidenhead, S central England, on the Thames River. There is some light industry and printing. The town is a popular tourist destination; the Danish toymaker Lego opened a Legoland amusement park there in 1996. In Elizabethan times about 70 inns enlivened Windsor. Christopher Wren Wren, Sir Christopher, 1632–1723, English architect. A mathematical prodigy, he studied at Oxford. He was professor of astronomy at Gresham College, London, from 1657 to 1661, when he became Savilian professor of astronomy at Oxford.
..... Click the link for more information. designed the town hall, and Grinling Gibbons Gibbons, Grinling, 1648–1721, English wood carver and sculptor, b. Rotterdam. From the reign of Charles II to that of George I he was master wood carver to the crown. Sir Christopher Wren employed him for architectural decoration.
..... Click the link for more information. did much of the wood carving in the Church of St. John the Baptist.

The town's importance derives from

Windsor Castle, the chief residence of English rulers since William I William I or William the Conqueror, 1027?–1087, king of England (1066–87). Earnest and resourceful, William was not only one of the greatest of English monarchs but a pivotal figure in European history as well.
..... Click the link for more information. . The castle was improved and rebuilt by successive sovereigns. Henry II Henry II, 1133–89, king of England (1154–89), son of Matilda , queen of England, and Geoffrey IV , count of Anjou. He was the founder of the Angevin , or Plantagenet, line in England and one of the ablest and most remarkable of the English kings.
..... Click the link for more information. erected the Round Tower, and Edward IV Edward IV, 1442–83, king of England (1461–70, 1471–83), son of Richard, duke of York . He succeeded to the leadership of the Yorkist party (see Roses, Wars of the ) after the death of his father in Wakefield in 1460.
..... Click the link for more information. began the construction of St. George's Chapel, one of the most splendid churches in England, where the Knights of the Garter are installed with medieval ceremony. In the chapel are buried several of England's kings. Some vaults are used to store art treasures, national archives, and museum collections.

The modern castle, which contains about 1,000 rooms and occupies 13 acres (5 hectares), consists of three "wards"—the upper, middle, and lower. In 1992 a fire in the upper ward destroyed or damaged more than 100 rooms; restoration was completed in 1997. The castle proper lies in the Home Park, and beyond it, separated by the tree-lined Long Walk, is the Great Park. In Frogmore, the royal mausoleum, Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (ăl'ĭgzăndrē`nə)
..... Click the link for more information. and Prince Albert Albert, 1819–61, prince consort of Victoria of Great Britain, whom he married in 1840. He was of Wettin lineage, the son of Ernest I, duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and first cousin to Victoria.
..... Click the link for more information. are buried. On the castle grounds is a large lake named Virginia Water.

Windsor, town, United States

Windsor, town (1990 pop. 27,817), Hartford co., N Conn., at the confluence of the Farmington and Connecticut rivers, just N of Hartford. Settled by Plymouth Colony in 1633, Windsor was the first English settlement in Connecticut and is the state's oldest town. Although primarily residential, the town has a variety of light industries; it was once renowned for its tobacco production. The American statesman Oliver Ellsworth Ellsworth, Oliver, 1745–1807, American political leader, third Chief Justice of the United States (1796–1800), b. Windsor, Conn. A Hartford lawyer, he was (1778–83) a member of the Continental Congress during the American Revolution.
..... Click the link for more information. was born there; his home is a museum. Colonial buildings in Windsor include Fyler House (1640) and the Joseph Loomis House.

Windsor

City (pop., 2001: 208,402), southern Ontario, Canada. Located on the southern bank of the Detroit River, opposite Detroit, Mich., U.S., it was settled by French farmers shortly after 1701, when a fort was established at Detroit. It was known first as “the Ferry” and later as Richmond before it was renamed in 1836. With its strategic location opposite Detroit, it became an industrial centre, an important railway terminus, and a busy port in Great Lakes shipping. Its manufactures include motor vehicles and parts, foods and beverages, and medicines. It is Canada's leading port of entry from the U.S.

Windsor¹

1. the official name of the British royal family from 1917

2. Duke of. the title of Edward VIII from 1937

Windsor²

1. a town in S England, in Windsor and Maidenhead unitary authority, Berkshire, on the River Thames, linked by bridge with Eton: site of Windsor Castle, residence of English monarchs since its founding by William the Conqueror; Old Windsor, royal residence in the time of Edward the Confessor, is 3 km (2 miles) southeast. Pop.: 26 747 (2001 est.)

2. a city in SE Canada, in S Ontario on the Detroit River opposite Detroit: motor-vehicle manufacturing; university (1963). Pop.: 208 402 (2001)