Windsor Castle fire remembered 30 years on

The blaze caused millions of pounds worth of damage to the castle in Berkshire

A fire at Windsor Castle has been remembered 30 years after it broke out.

Starting in a private chapel on the first floor of the north-east wing on 20 November 1992, the blaze caused millions of pounds worth of damage.

The late Queen and the Duke of York helped to rescue priceless works of art from the Royal Collection.

Queen Elizabeth II's press secretary Dickie Arbiter said water was pumped from the Thames by firefighters.

Firefighters battled the flames at the Queen's weekend home

"There were something like 200 firefighters and millions of gallons of water being pumped from the River Thames," he said.

"But it did take a long time and the firemen were there the next day trying to damp it down because there was still smoke coming out of the building," he added.

Queen Elizabeth II was pictured speaking to firefighters alongside her then press secretary Mr Arbiter

The fire started in Queen Victoria's private chapel, where a faulty spotlight ignited a curtain next to the altar, the Royal Collection Trust (RCT) said.

Within minutes the blaze had spread to St George's Hall next door.

The flames were first spotted at around 11:30 GMT and within three hours, 225 firefighters from seven counties were battling to extinguish them.

The impact of the fire was devastating and cost millions to repair

The interior of St George's Hall was destroyed

The restoration task that followed was enormous - the fire had destroyed 115 rooms, including nine state rooms, the RCT said.

But work was officially completed on 20 November 1997, five years to the day since the fire broke out.