This week, in celebration of it being sixty years since Queen Elizabeth's Coronation, six arches have been constructed at the top of the Long Walk, just before the iron gates that lead on into Windsor Castle.
The willow walkway, which was created by master weaver Spencer Jenkins, will remain in place on the Walk until October 2013 - when the arches will be auctioned off to raise money for local young gardeners.
But royal arches, however impressive, are not actually a new concept. In 1897, during Queen Victoria's reign, two were constructed in the local Windsor area. The Jubilee Arches were also called the Portae Victorianae. One (shown above and below) was constructed over Slough Road, very near to Eton School.
The second arch was constructed on one side of Windsor Bridge - as it crosses over from the town of Eton, and with Windsor's Thames street shown behind. Both were made of lath, plaster, sand and papiér maché, all of which was aged to give a worn and stained appearance, so as to look contemporaneous with any other buildings from the start of Queen Victoria's reign.
The archway below was constructed over Keats Lane in Eton. It was decorated with the Eton College motto and crest.
In Slough, there were also triumphal arches, such as the one that spanned MacKenzie Street in 1887 -
And again, a decade later -
This one was in Slough's Windsor Road in 1887 -
And this one was in Kensington -
And here it is again, shown during the celebration procession as it makes its way along Kensington High Street -
With thanks to the Royal Windsor Forum, to Slough History Online, and to The Royal Borough of Kensington Local Studies for these wonderful pictures which really throw a light on how life went on in Victorian times ~ and to know that these delightful traditions are still continuing today.