Where YOU can spot a royal ghost this Halloween – including the haunted mansion the Queen refused to enter
THROUGHOUT history, British monarchs have come to some sticky ends, from beheadings and STDs to red hot pokers and stabbings.
It's no wonder that so many of them apparently hang around as spooky sovereigns and regal wraiths, haunting castles and palaces across the British Isles.
As Halloween approaches, Fabulous has rounded up where you might be able to spot a royal ghost across Britain.
Windsor Castle, Windsor
Majestic Windsor has been such a favourite with royals throughout history that many have been reluctant to leave, even after death.
The list of Windsor’s ghouls includes Henry VIII, George III and Elizabeth I, along with 23 other spectres rattling around the formidable halls of the castle.
Elizabeth I has been spotted floating from the royal library to an inner room and was seen by both George III (before he died and joined her) and Edward VII.
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The late Queen and Princess Margaret also reported seeing ghosts when they were in the castle.
Hampton Court Palace, Hampton Court
Henry VIII’s favourite abode now plays host to the spirits of two of his six wives.
Jane Seymour, who died at the palace, is said to appear as a pale figure on the staircase leading to her private quarters.
And Henry's fifth wife, Catherine Howard, who was beheaded for adultery in 1542 when she was 19, has been seen floating down the hall of the Haunted Gallery, still screaming for mercy as she did on the day she was taken away to be killed.
Kensington Palace, London
The former London home of Princess Diana and of Princes Harry and William is packed with paranormal activity.
Mary II, wife of William III, joins George II there as an undead tenant.
At the time of his death in 1760, George was reportedly waiting for news from his troops during the Seven Years' War.
He is said to have died staring out of the window saying, "Why don't they come?"
Those who have encountered his spirit say he's still asking to this day.
Tower of London, London
Prince Edward V and Prince Richard, Duke of York were Richard III’s nephews and were 12 and nine when they were taken to the Tower in 1483.
Their imprisonment was ordered by the king who feared they would overthrow him.
There are no records of what happened to them, but their ghosts have been spotted in the Bloody Tower wearing white nightgowns and holding hands.
They never make a sound and can only be seen for a few moments before they fade into the stonework.
Dumfries House, Cumnock
In 2007 as Prince of Wales, King Charles sealed a £45m deal to buy Dumfries House and save the 18th Century mansion and its estate from becoming a golf course.
He may have got more than he bargained for.
Queen Consort Camilla refused to go inside when she first visited the building because she felt an unhappy presence there.
It is thought that the mansion was haunted by the Marquis of Bude, who was unhappy with Charles’ renovations.
Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh
The monarch's official residence in Scotland was the site of a grisly murder in 1566.
Italian musician David Rizzio worked at the palace and later became the private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots.
Mary’s husband Henry Stuart, also known as Lord Darnley, became jealous and arranged for Rizzio to be stabbed repeatedly outside Mary’s private chambers.
He was thrown down the staircase and bled to death.
Over the years the floorboards where Rizzio died have been replaced but stains always reappear on them in the same place.
A ghostly figure has also been seen in the same area.
Lord Darnley later died in the residence in a mysterious explosion, said to have been ordered by Mary in retaliation.
His spirit is also said to haunt his old rooms.
Sandringham, Norfolk
The royal family’s favourite Christmas retreat is so haunted that a mini exorcism was once held there.
Several staff reported strange noises coming from a ground-floor room which had been turned into a bedroom for George VI during his last months.
The parson of the estate reportedly held a service there which included a Holy Communion and special prayers.
Some have speculated that the spirit may be George’s.
Speaking in 2011, a courtier said: “Everyone believes there are ghosts because so many have experienced them, including Prince Charles.
"There are old parts of the house where nobody wants to go or be alone."
Ballygally Castle, Larne, Northern Ireland
The spirit of Lady Isobel Shaw is said to walk the corridors of the 400-year-old building which is now a hotel. She was the wife of Lord James Shaw.
He wanted a son for an heir and when Lady Shaw couldn’t deliver a boy he locked her in a room at the top of the castle from where she fell to her death, either by suicide or at the hands of her wicked husband.
Her spirit is known to knock on doors in the building and then disappear.
Kidwelly Castle, Carmarthen, Wales
After William the Conqueror claimed the English throne in 1066, he charged through the southern Welsh principalities with his army overrunning castles at Aberystwyth, Cardigan, Carmarthen and Pembroke.
At Kidwelly the Norman invaders fought and conquered the troops of Gwenllian, the warrior princess of Wales.
She was captured and beheaded. Her headless, restless ghost has wandered the area ever since.
Tutbury Castle, Derbyshire
Mary Queen of Scots is said to haunt Tutbury Castle where she was held prisoner on four occasions before she was executed in Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire in 1586.
Bradgate House, Leicestershire
Lady Jane Grey was Queen of England for nine days in July 1553 but was beheaded for treason after being overthrown by her half sister Mary I.
The Grey family lived in Bradgate House for over 200 years but after Jane and her father, Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Sussex, were killed, the estate passed to the crown. Today it is a ruin.
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An apparition of Lady Grey is said to appear every News Year’s Eve, riding through the surrounding grounds on a coach pulled by ghostly horses.
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