disaster to befall the Royal Family in recent history happened in November, 1992.

The world watched in horror as a fire caused an estimated $90 million of damage to Windsor Castle.

Prince Andrew helped staff and firemen to rescue some of the great art treasures of the Castle, including works by Holbein, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rubens, Van Dyck and Canaletto.

But one painting destroyed was a portrait of the "mad'' monarch, George III, which had even survived his order to burn it 200 years earlier.

The portrait was painted by Sir William Beechey in 1797 and the King hated it and demanded it be taken down. But his courtiers ignored him.

King George suffered from bouts of madness and is said to have shaken hands with a tree mistaking it for the German ambassador.

Repairs to Windsor Castle after the 1992 inferno are expected to take years.

The fire was believed to have been started by an art restorer who accidentally ignited chemicals with a high energy lamp.

The Castle, standing on a hill overlooking the River Thames, 25 miles west of London, has been an official residence of the Sovereign for more than 800 years.

The original castle was a fortified earthwork, surrounded by a dry ditch, built by William the Conqueror in 1070 as one of a chain of strongholds controlling the area around London.

Buildings in the Castle include the Round Tower, where the lower wall dates back to the time of Henry II (1154-89) and St. George's Chapel built from 1475 to 1489, in which many English sovereigns are buried.

WINDSOR CASTLE -- The official residence of Kings and Queens for 800 years, the castle is still undergoing repairs following a devastating fire in 1992.