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The keep at Castle Rising was built in about 1140 by William de Albini, a Norman lord who had married the widow of Henry I. It was modelled on the royal castle building at Norwich. The castle became a royal residence in 1331 when it was occupied by Queen Isabella the widow of Edward II; she stayed here for 27 years. Following her death, the castle passed to her grandson, Edward the Black Prince who died in 1376. It appears that the castle then went through a period of decline until it was granted to Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk by Henry VIII in 1544 and it has remained in the Howard family ever since. In the 19th century the family undertook extensive excavation and restoration work to the castle building. The castle is one of the finest surviving example of its kind in the country.