<P> On the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 the castle was readied for war - time conditions . Many of the staff from Buckingham Palace were moved to Windsor for safety, security was tightened and windows were blacked - out . There was significant concern that the castle might be damaged or destroyed during the war; the more important art works were removed from the castle for safe - keeping, the valuable chandeliers were lowered to the floor in case of bomb damage and a sequence of paintings by John Piper were commissioned from 1942--4 to record the castle's appearance . The king and queen and their children Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret lived for safety in the castle, with the roof above their rooms specially strengthened in case of attack . The king and queen drove daily to London, returning to Windsor to sleep, although at the time this was a well - kept secret, as for propaganda and morale purposes it was reported that the king was still residing full - time at Buckingham Palace . The castle was also used as a storage facility; for example, the only purified heavy water at the time was rescued from France in the face of the imminent French defeat in 1940, and most of it was sent to the castle to be stored in the basement alongside the Crown Jewels . After the war the king revived the "dine and sleep" events at Windsor, following comments that the castle had become "almost like a vast, empty museum"; nonetheless, it took many years to restore Windsor Castle to its pre-war condition . </P> <P> In February 1952, Elizabeth II came to the throne and decided to make Windsor her principal weekend retreat . The private apartments which had not been properly occupied since the era of Queen Mary were renovated and further modernised, and the Queen, Prince Philip and their two children took up residence . By the early 1990s, however, there had been a marked deterioration in the quality of the Upper Ward, in particular the State Apartments . Generations of repairs and replacements had resulted in a "diminution of the richness with which they had first been decorated", a "gradual attrition of the original vibrancy of effect, as each change repeated a more faded version of the last". A programme of repair work to replace the heating and the wiring of the Upper Ward began in 1988 . Work was also undertaken to underpin the motte of the Round Tower after fresh subsidence was detected in 1988, threatening the collapse of the tower . </P> <P> On 20 November 1992, a major fire occurred at Windsor Castle, lasting for 15 hours and causing widespread damage to the Upper Ward . The Private Chapel in the north - east corner of the State Apartments was being renovated as part of a long term programme of work within the castle, and it is believed that one of the spotlights being used in the work set fire to a curtain by the altar during the morning . The fire spread quickly and destroyed nine of the principal state rooms and severely damaged more than 100 others . Fire - fighters applied water to contain the blaze, whilst castle staff attempted to rescue the precious artworks from the castle . Many of the rooms closest to the fire had been emptied as part of the renovation work, and this contributed to the successful evacuation of most of the collection . The fire spread through the roof voids and efforts continued through the night to contain the blaze, at great risk to the 200 fire - fighters involved . It was not until late afternoon that the blaze began to come under control, although the fire continued during the night before being officially declared over the next morning . Along with the fire and smoke damage, one of the unintended effects of the fire - fighting was the considerable water damage to the castle; more than 1.5 million gallons of water were used to extinguish it, which in many ways caused more complex restoration problems than the fire . </P> <P> Two major issues for Windsor Castle emerged following the fire . The first was a political debate in Britain as to who should pay for the repairs . Traditionally, as the property of the Crown, Windsor Castle was maintained, and if necessary repaired, by the British government in exchange for the profits made by the Crown Estate . Furthermore, like other occupied royal palaces, it was not insured on grounds of economy . At the time of the fire, however, the British press strongly argued in favour of the Queen herself being required to pay for the repairs from her private income . A solution was found in which the restoration work would be paid for by opening Buckingham Palace to the public at selected times of the year, and by introducing new charges for public access to the parkland surrounding Windsor . The second major issue concerned how to repair the castle . Some suggested that the damaged rooms should be restored to their original appearance, but others favoured repairing the castle so as to incorporate modern designs . The decision was taken to largely follow the pre-fire architecture with some changes to reflect modern tastes and cost, but fresh questions emerged over whether the restoration should be undertaken to "authentic" or "equivalent" restoration standards . Modern methods were used at Windsor to reproduce the equivalent pre-fire appearance, partially due to the cost . The restoration programme was completed in 1997 at a total cost of £ 37 million (£ 67 million in 2015 terms). </P>

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