Royal Archives
[1] Although sovereigns have kept records for centuries, the Royal Archives was formally established as recently as 1912 and occupies part of the Round Tower of Windsor Castle.
[3] The tower's renovation and subsequent expansion decades later successfully addressed spatial constraints and provided more effective methods of archival preservation.
[10] Presented to George V in 1914 by John Montagu Douglas Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch was a collection of papers including bills and receipts detailing the purchases of royal furnishings and wardrobes.
[13] Obtained around the same time as the Stuart Papers, records of Prince William, Duke of Cumberland were transferred to the Royal Archives in 1914.
[16] Additionally, despite William IV's official papers being destroyed after his death in 1837, records including personal accounts, military documents, and private correspondence have been preserved in the Royal Archives.
[3] Contributing to the documentation of Queen Victoria’s reign, Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher edited both private and official correspondence, which was later published and retained in the Royal Archives.
[3] Additionally, military papers belonging to Prince George, Duke of Cambridge were initially acquired by Queen Mary and are of great historical value at the Royal Archives.
[19] Cooke wrote that "Favoured authors likely to deal indulgently with royal reputations can expect to be treated with great kindness by the archivists at Windsor.
[20] Julia Baird was asked by Pamela Clarke, the assistant keeper of the Royal Archives, to excise from her book an account of a "flirtatious exchange" between Victoria and John Brown that she had found recorded in the private papers of Sir James Reid.
[21] Baird recalled that she was asked to remove "large sections of my book based on material that I had found not inside but outside the archives".
[21] Baird subsequently wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times in 2016 on the incident, concluding that "By rationing access and suppressing evidence, the Royal Archives have accomplished the very reverse of their intention.
[21] Bostridge wrote in the The Times Literary Supplement in 2006 that "For years writers and scholars have complained under their breath about unwarranted censorship of their work" by the Royal Archives but "generally they have been loathe to publicise their treatment for fear they wouldn't be permitted to research at Windsor again".
[25] Urbach and fellow historians Franz Bosbach and John R. Davis listed Anglo-German correspondence to 1918 but were not sure if they had seen all the material and were not allowed access to the secret internal catalogue held by the head archivist.
[25] An anonymous author was forced to abandon his writing of a biography of Prince George, Duke of Kent as his access to files was so limited.
