Queen Victoria's ghost or lazy workers?

As we start to approach Halloween i thought i would share a series of ghostly stories around Queen Victoria and her family. The second story in this series is about the ghost of Queen Victoria herself!

Now if you're a believer, sceptic, or just curious cozy up and let's dive into the second ghostly story.

In 1936 during the short reign of King Edward VIII a supposedly ghostly sighting of Queen Victoria occurred.

There are various variations of which trees were going to be removed, some claim it was a tree planted by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert themselves, but others claim it was trees on the Long Walk at Windsor.

The King's American partner, divorcee and socialite Wallis Simpson stay at Fort Belvedere to visit Windsor Castle. During her visit, she wanted to modernise the royal estate and planned several major renovations. Part of her plan involved altering the landscape by removing the historic avenue of trees along the Long Walk that had been planted by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

The Long Walk at Windsor has had trees there since the 17th century but by 1859 the trees were showing signs of deterioration, so Mr John Clutton submitted plans to Prince Albert for approval to future-proof The Long Walk. Oak was to become a substitute for elm between The Double Gates and Snow Hill, and fresh elm trees were to replace the existing elms between Windsor Castle and The Double Gates.

The plans were supposedly set and a small group of workmen had arrived to carry out what appeared to be a perfectly ordinary task: the removal of an old tree from the castle grounds. As the men prepared to begin cutting down the trees, they became aware of a strange figure approaching them. To their astonishment, the figure appeared to be that of an elderly woman dressed entirely in black, resembling the unmistakable appearance of Queen Victoria in her later years.

The apparition was reportedly waving her arms in an agitated manner and making strange, mournful noises, seemingly expressing her considerable displeasure at the destruction about to take place. Rather than continue their work, the men reportedly abandoned their tools and fled the scene, unwilling to risk another encounter with the furious royal apparition.

According to versions of the legend, the incident brought the proposed removal of the trees to an abrupt halt, leaving them standing despite the wishes of the King's companion. Perhaps Queen Victoria really did make her presence known or the workers came up with an excuse to skip a days labour....

Join me next time for another ghost story surrounding Queen Victoria and her family!