The constituency was created at the February 1974 general election and abolished at the 1997 general election, when it was replaced by the new separate constituencies of Windsor and Maidenhead.

The constituency was formed in 1983 to replace the existing seat of Windsor, with no changes to its composition.

In order to effect an increase in Berkshire's representation from 7 to 8 MPs in accordance with the Fourth Periodic Review of Westminster Constituencies, the Windsor and Maidenhead constituency was abolished in 1997 and the two separate constituencies of Maidenhead and Windsor were created.

The constituency gained the small town comprising the former Urban District of Eton which had been transferred from Buckinghamshire to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire by the Local Government Act and was previously part of the abolished Borough Constituency of Eton and Slough.

On abolition, the majority of the electorate, including Maidenhead, Bisham and Cookham was transferred to the new Maidenhead constituency, with Windsor, Eton and Bray added to the re-established Windsor constituency.