Royal hero: how prince andrew was dubbed saviour after windsor fire

PRINCE ANDREW: HOW ROYAL TOOK ACTION IN WINDSOR CASTLE FIRE The Windsor Castle fire ripped through the Queen’s historic residence in on 20 November 1992, destroying a fifth of the world’s

oldest inhabited castle. With this week’s devastating Notre Dame cathedral fire, that ripped through the landmark’s roof and destroyed its spire, many are looking to similar restoration

projects of internationally important buildings for hope. This week’s conflagration in Paris saw rescue teams forming human chain to salvage the cathedrals priceless artwork including the

Crown of Thorns and Blessed Sacrament. RELATED ARTICLES In 1992, Windsor witnessed similar scenes as castle workers and were joined by the Queen’s son Prince Andrew in their efforts to

remove priceless artefacts from the fire’s path of destruction. Speaking in archive footage from the time, Prince Andrew told the BBC’s Jennie Bond about his experience, while flames from

the fire still burned behind him. The Duke of York said he was feeling: “Shock horror, shock and horror and the fact that it took hold so quickly. “I happened to be around the castle when it

started, I heard the fire alarm and some two or three minutes later you could see the smoke.” Prince Andrew joined efforts to salvage the castle's priceless artworks in 1992 (Image:

Getty) teh DUke of York spoke to the BBC while the fire still burned behind him (Image: YouTube) Ms Bond explained: “He said that everyone’s immediate concern had been to move the works of

art out, and he had joined in the effort.” The prince added: “I’ve been in, and I’ve looked inside St George’s Hall and seen first hand what it looks like, and its a pretty nasty mess.” Ms

Bond continued: “Throughout the afternoon, human chains, including not only the prince but the dean of windsor, worked to pass out books and any other valuable that could be moved.  “Local

people, for whom the castle is a symbol of the historic significance of their town, were devastated.” The destruction in St George's Hall (Image: Getty) The Queen is shown the

destruction the day after the blaze (Image: Getty) The news footage shows the human chain of fire crew and palace staff  as they passed books, painting and furniture hand-to-hand. They

managed to save 300 clocks, a collection of miniatures, thousands of valuable books and historic manuscripts, and old Master drawings from the Royal Library. Prince Andrew was staying within

the castle’s grounds at the time of the fire, which luckily did not cause any serious injuries.  The Queen was not in residence at the time, however the visibly shaken  monarch was shown

the destruction the next day by fire crew. RELATED ARTICLES Her Majesty’s youngest son, Prince Edward, was not at the castle when the fire broke out, however he documented the disaster, and

the following restoration efforts, in a 1997 film.  Speaking to the Washington Post ahead of his documentary’s release, he said that in addition to the historic building and it’s treasures,

“There are a community of a couple of hundred who live within the castle walls. “It's very much a community and it's a living, breathing community." He also spoke of the roof

of St George’s Hall, which was completely destroyed by the fire, saying that a void between the roof and the ceiling “was always known [as] the worst fire hazard in the castle.” A TOUR OF

WINDSOR CASTLE THE OLDEST OCCUPIED CASTLE IN THE WORLD Speaking of the destruction, he said: ”It looked as if literally a bomb had been dropped on the castle.”  Although a painting and some

pieces of furniture, which were too large and heavy to remove, were lost in the fire, Prince Edward shone some light on an unexpected discovery. A priceless set of crystal, only used once a

year for the Knights of the Garter, was located in a glass pantry just behind the worst of the blaze. Edward recounted:  "Everybody said, forget it. But the fire had sucked all the

oxygen out of the room, and when they kicked the door in, there was a rush of air – this room was completely untouched. “It was black and had a sagging ceiling but inside, the crystal was

completely untouched. It was just black and had [soot] in it."