 George I took little interest in Windsor Castle , preferring his other palaces at St James 's , Hampton Court and Kensington . George II rarely used Windsor either , preferring Hampton Court . Many of the apartments in the Upper Ward were given out as " grace and favour " privileges for the use of prominent widows or other friends of the Crown . The Duke of Cumberland made the most use of the property in his role as the Ranger of Windsor Great Park . By the 1740s , Windsor Castle had become an early tourist attraction ; wealthier visitors who could afford to pay the castle keeper could enter , see curiosities such as the castle 's narwhal horn , and by the 1750s buy the first guidebooks to Windsor , produced by George Bickham in 1753 and Joseph Pote in 1755 . As the condition of the State Apartments continued to deteriorate , even the general public were able to regularly visit the property . 
