Royal Borough Observer

It’s part of a series of Observer newspapers for eastern Berkshire and southern Buckinghamshire that was originally founded in 1883 with a plan to extend coverage to Windsor, Maidenhead, Eton, Uxbridge and Colnbrook. Until the late 2000s it appeared in three editions, of which the Royal Borough Observer can trace its origins to the Windsor, Ascot & Maidenhead Observer (the others covered Slough and South Bucks). The three editions were amalgamated for a while as the Slough & Windsor Observer, but the Windsor & Maidenhead version has now resumed its independent existence under a new name, although it shares the same editorial offices – which are now in Reading, having moved there from Langley near Slough.

It’s been owned by the Romanes Media Group (formerly Clyde & Forth Media) since 1997.

The website was revamped in the summer of 2013. Although content remains free, users are now required to take part in consumer surveys run by Google once a month before they can access it.

The Observer comes out on Fridays. A small number of copies are available by free pickup.