Let me introduce you to Arundel Castle, the second biggest inhabited castle in England (the first being Windsor). And the coolest one I’ve seen to date…although “coolest” doesn’t seem like a good word to describe a castle.
Arundel is just a little ways from my Uncles house, where we were staying in England. AND one of the best parts about this castle (there were so many, but this was high on the list) is that the new film The Young Victoria was filmed there, or at least a bit of it.
The Duke and Duchess of Norfolk live in the Castle 6 months out of the year and the other six months, they open it up to the public. Although, I think that they are still there while it’s open to the public, they just don’t use the whole thing. We were able to meet their assistant butler, which was super interesting. He told us about their traditions at a formal dinner such as, how to eat a banana – slice both ends off, cut the top piece of banana peel off, and then cut little pieces of the banana and eat it with your fork. He also told us that it takes two days to set the table for a formal dinner, because of all the measuring and making sure everything is perfect (literally!).
I loved all the little rooms and hallways through the castle, and could imagine the Dukes grandchildren just loving exploring the castle!
My absolute favorite thing about the Arundel castle was seeing Queen Mary of Scott’s ORIGINAL rosary, prayer book and pearly necklace! It was amazing to see it in person and know that Mary had held those beads and prayed over that little book. Apparently, a girl in the Norfolk’s family had been Mary’s Lady in Waiting and Queen Mary had passed these belongings off to her before she walked up to get beheaded.
Interesting stuff!
Katelynjane's Notebook 