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147-656: The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( / ˈ h ɒ l ɪ r uː d / or / ˈ h oʊ l ɪ r uː d / ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace , is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland . Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh , at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle , Holyrood has served as the principal royal residence in Scotland since the 16th century, and

294-524: A grace-and-favour apartment in the palace. A second phase of work started in 1676, when the Duke of Lauderdale ordered Bruce to demolish and rebuild the main west façade, resulting by 1679 in the present west front which forms the main entrance. Bruce also constructed a kitchen block to the south-east of the Quadrangle. By 1679 the palace had been reconstructed, largely in its present form. Craftsmen employed included

441-530: A Lam . Soon after, the tapestries were packed up and taken to Stirling Castle , where the king celebrated Easter. Ripped and torn tapestries were mended in 1497 by a priest John Kilgour of Dunblane. In March 1498 James IV ordered a suite of tapestry for his new lodging at Stirling Castle from James Makysone, a merchant based in Leith. In preparation for the arrival of his bride Margaret Tudor at Holyroodhouse on 8 August 1503, James IV bought new tapestries. A group

588-479: A William Schaw in 1539, costing 2466 écu au soleil (crowns of the sun) . It was a group of five (or six) sets of seven pieces, and included seven Sundry pieces histories of Chambers in fine stuff listed in 1539. Additions for this Chamber of Antique History were bought by a servant of John Moffet, conservator of Flanders in April 1541. The word 'chamber' referred to the suite of tapestry rather than any actual room in

735-437: A bench so he could examine and admire the 'antique borders' of the tapestry in his bedchamber, and this was seen as a sign of special favour. In Scotland, James V's tapestries were listed in two inventories, along with the crown jewels and fine clothes. These tapestries were used to hang the best chambers and halls in the palaces, and were transported with the monarch between residences and lined, fixed and hung by specialists on

882-472: A cloth of estate of "high colour" crimson velvet, a crimson satin cloth of estate, and a cloth of estate of cloth of gold. These cloths of estate were suspended above the chairs and thrones used by James VI. There were three state beds; one of red velvet embroidered with love knots and a "I.I" motif, another bed of cloth of gold and silver embroidered with pots of flowers, and another of "high colour" crimson velvet. These beds and cloths of estate were positioned in

1029-422: A debtors' sanctuary since the 16th century. Those in debt could escape their creditors, and imprisonment , by taking up residence within the sanctuary, and a small community grew up to the west of the palace. The residents, known colloquially as "Abbey Lairds ", were able to leave the sanctuary on Sundays, when no arrests were permitted. The area was controlled by a baillie , and by several constables, appointed by

1176-737: A globe. There was a set of the History of the Creation of the World at Hampton Court in 1613, in which God was represented as three persons in bishop's costumes with crowns and sceptres. This could have been a design known as the Redemption of Man known to have been owned both by Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey . There were several weavings. A list of wedding gifts from Francis I adds four suites of rich Arras hangings, and eight suites of coarser Arras, all 'ret verey good.' These gifts would have been included among

1323-522: A hundred, larger hooks called "crochattis" were five shillings the hundred. James IV built a gatehouse at Holyrood Palace on the street now called Abbey Strand. He installed a glazier, Thomas Peebles , who made windows for the royal palaces, in the rooms above the passageway or pend. In 1537 James V moved the glazier's workshop, and the gatehouse was refurbished for mending tapestry. A French tapestry worker, Guillaume, moved to Scotland with his wife and children in 1538. When James V moved around Scotland

1470-446: A learning centre. The palace as it stands today was designed by Sir William Bruce and built between 1671 and 1678, with the exception of the 16th-century north-west tower built by James V. The palace is laid out round a central, classical -style three-storey plus attic quadrangle layout. The palace extends approximately 230 feet (70 m) from north to south and 230 feet (70 m) from east to west. The 16th-century north-west tower

1617-575: A lion house and menagerie were constructed in the palace gardens to house the king's lion, civet, tigers, lynx, and bears. James IV held tournaments of the Wild Knight and the Black Lady in Edinburgh in 1507 and 1508. These events concluded with banquets in the great hall. As the final act of these theatrical events, the Black Lady came into the hall with her Spanish page "Little Martin". A cloud descended from

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1764-809: A memorial to Edward VII, along with a statue of Edward by Henry Snell Gamley which was unveiled by George V in 1922. The buildings to the west of the forecourt are the Gatehouse and former Guard Rooms (1861) (which replaced the tenements of debtors' sanctuary), the Palace Coach House, the former stables (1861), the Café at the Palace in the Mews Courtyard, and the King's Gallery . In 1987 the Holyrood Palace and Park were added to

1911-552: A nobleman implicated by the North Berwick Witch Trials . Three of James VI's children, Elizabeth , Margaret , and Charles , were baptised in the chapel royal. The Parliament of Scotland met at Holyrood on 29 occasions between 1573 and 1630. James VI was in residence at Holyrood on 26 March 1603 when Sir Robert Carey arrived at the palace to inform the King of Scots that Elizabeth I had died two days earlier, and that James

2058-663: A piece from the Old History of Troy, or possibly the Sailing of Aeneas set, first listed in November 1561, was newly brought from France by Queen Mary and not part of James's Aeneas . Alexander Seton had some of the Aeneas and Troy at Dunfermline among his 10 old pieces in 1616. An area of the garden of Holyroodhouse was called the Sege of Troy , and there may have been a connection, perhaps only that

2205-652: A range of official engagements and ceremonies. The 16th-century historic apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots , and the State Apartments, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public throughout the year, except when members of the royal family are in residence. The palace also serves as the official residence of the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland during

2352-445: A residence, containing only the lieutenant governor 's offices. Alberta also has a Government House , but it is used solely for official entertaining and meetings. French Polynesia The following are official residences maintained by private, nongovernmental institutions: Federal States Brandenburg / Prussia / Imperial / East Germany / Former West Germany Other Presidential Palace * In every state of

2499-783: A separate item originally belonging to James V, and perhaps distinct from the six-piece set of the Hunting of the Sanglier (Wild Boar), and seven-piece Coningars (the Rabbit Hunt), listed in later inventories. One scene from this Rabbit Hunt , otherwise called the L’histoire des Chasseurs de Cogny in an inventory written in French, was said to have been lost at Linlithgow during the 1566 baptism of James VI at Stirling. However this loss had already been recorded in 1565, as having occurred at Linlithgow during

2646-576: A set of "Old Law and New Law" at Newhall in 1583. Two pieces from a set of the Old and New Law were in the wardrobe of Hampton Court in 1658, taken down from the queen's privy chamber and another nine pieces were listed the king's privy chamber. James V's servant George Steill was sent to Flanders from Paris on 3 February 1537 to acquire more tapestries. At the same time James V hired a new French tapestry-man, William, and gave him 20 crowns to bring his wife and children to Scotland. When Mary, Queen of Scots

2793-489: A set of five tapestries hanging in the king's audience chamber in the palace with the red damask or satin "dais" cloth, and seven tapestries in the bedchamber with cloth of estate of gold and the red velvet bed. The other furnishings used in the king's minority years at Stirling were probably taken to Holyroodhouse. When Mary was moved to Tutbury Castle in February 1569, three suites of tapestries and carpets were delivered from

2940-602: A so-called unicorn horn. Mary, now a prisoner in England, complained in August 1570 that Scottish ships had brought items of her 'apparel , costly hangings, and jewels' to Hull and other English ports for sale. An inventory of March 1579 made by George Douglas of Parkhead lists tapestries stored in Edinburgh Castle and those hanging at Stirling Castle , where James VI was resident. Tapestries at Stirling included eight pieces of

3087-521: A suite of three or five pieces for £251-10s sterling in September 1607. In October 1615 King James ordered John Auchmoutie , keeper of the royal wardrobe in Scotland, to provide tapestry to Lord Erskine to furnish two rooms in Stirling Castle. Some tapestries remained at Dunfermline Palace in 1616, where Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline , had looked after the infant Prince Charles . There

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3234-543: Is a setting for state occasions and official entertaining. The palace adjoins Holyrood Abbey , and the gardens are set within Holyrood Park . The King's Gallery was converted from existing buildings at the western entrance to the palace and was opened in 2002 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection . King Charles III spends one week in residence at Holyrood at the beginning of summer, where he carries out

3381-559: Is balanced with a matching south-west tower, each with a pair of circular angle turrets with ball-finialled, conical bell-cast roofs. The towers are linked by a recessed two-storey front, with the central principal entrance framed by giant Doric columns and surmounted by the carved Royal arms of Scotland . Above the arms a crowned cupola with a clock rises behind a broken pediment supported by dolphins, on which are two reclining figures. The north and south fronts have symmetrical three-storey facades that rise behind to far left and right of

3528-411: Is dominated by the so-called 'Darnley' bed. The bed was actually supplied to the Duke of Hamilton in 1682. The Stuart connection was provided by Bonnie Prince Charlie, who occupied the Duke of Hamilton's apartments in 1745, and slept in this bed. The room is linked by a small spiral staircase to Mary, Queen of Scots' Bedchamber on the second floor. The suite of rooms on the second floor of James V's Tower

3675-634: The Battle of Ravenna which she wished to be sold to pay for her servants' journeys home. Tapestries and hangings were carefully repaired in 1594 for the baptism of Prince Henry at Stirling Castle. After the Union of the Crowns , King James inherited the tapestries belonging to the English crown, and bought new tapestries from merchants and manufacturers, including Francis Spiring, or Spierincx of Delft (1550-1630) who supplied

3822-399: The Battle of Ravenna , the five pieces are first listed in November 1561 and so this too might not have belonged to James and Mary of Guise, unless they were among the unspecified tapestries bought by William Schaw in 1539. However, there are other tapestries with the subject Siege of a Town in late medieval style which answer the description. Another possibility is that these were scenes of

3969-604: The Earl of Hertford sacked Edinburgh and caused extensive damage to the palace and the abbey in 1544 and 1547 during the War of the Rough Wooing . Repairs were made by Mary of Guise , and in May 1559 she had a new altarpiece installed in the chapel royal, featuring paintings from Flanders set in a frame made by a French carpenter Andrew Mansioun . The altars were destroyed by a Protestant mob later in

4116-741: The European Council was held at the palace in December 1992 during the British presidency of the council. Queen Elizabeth II gave a dinner at Holyrood for the Commonwealth heads of government in October 1997 during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Edinburgh. Since 1834 the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland resides at the palace for a week each year while

4263-723: The General Assembly is meeting. Holyrood Palace remains the property of the Crown . As the official royal residence in Scotland, building conservation and maintenance work on the palace and abbey falls to the Scottish Government and is delivered on their behalf by the Conservation Directorate of Historic Environment Scotland . Public access is managed by the Royal Collection Trust , with revenues used to support

4410-409: The History of Aeneas were carried from Edinburgh Castle to St. Andrews in May 1539, and are listed in the inventory of 1539. Eight pieces described as the Sailing of Aeneas are listed in November 1561 at Holyroodhouse, with a note, presumably of c.1568, locating them at Stirling Castle. In 1578 there were eight Sailing pieces and four others at Edinburgh Castle. The extra tapestry may have been

4557-535: The History of the Apis and uther Bestis were recorded in 1539. Six pieces of the History of Apes were recorded in 1561. In January 1563 three pieces of this tapestry with monkeys, the tapisserie des singes , were given by Mary Queen of Scots to Pierre Marnard the court "fruictier" , a kitchen officer who took part in masques . Listed in the September 1561 inventory, ten pieces of History of Hunting and Hawking may have been

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4704-664: The History of the Shepherds of seven pieces and the History of Calveris and Moris of four pieces noted in 1561 may be obscure. The eight-piece Triumph of Verity also noted in November 1561 may have come to Scotland with Mary in 1561, unless perhaps this was yet another name for the City of Dames. Margaret Tudor's English yeoman of the wardrobe was Harry Roper, who made her bed sheets and window curtains, washed clothes, mended her tapestries and scarlet hangings and perfumed them with violet powder. Hooks for hanging tapestry cost two shillings for

4851-579: The Honours of Scotland . The Italian paintings on the walls are fragments of frescoes painted circa 1550 by Lattanzio Gambara , illustrating scenes from Ovid 's Metamorphoses . They were bought by Prince Albert in 1856, and placed here in 1881. At the top of the stair are the entrances to the West Drawing Room - the former Council Chamber - and the Royal Dining Room. The latter was originally

4998-461: The Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland . Holyrood Palace, along with Buckingham Palace Garden and Windsor Castle , was excavated on 25–28 August 2006 as part of a special edition of Channel 4 's archaeology series Time Team . The archaeologists uncovered part of the cloister of Holyrood Abbey, running in line with the existing abbey ruins, and a square tower associated with

5145-727: The Judgement of Paris , four pieces of the Hunt of the Unicorn , four or five pieces of Roboam , five pieces of the "Triumph of Verity", four pieces of the Count of Ravenna , four pieces of the History of Aeneas , a piece of the Story of Tobit , and a hanging with the arms of the Dukes of Longueville. Other furnishings in use at Stirling at this time include a cloth of estate made of alternate strips of gold and crimson velvet,

5292-639: The Labours of Hercules , perhaps the latest mention of tapestry from the Scottish royal collection. The six pieces of the Triumphant Dames or City of Dames were bought in Paris in 1537 or 1538 for 883 francs 10 sous during James V's trip to marry Madeleine of Valois . The pieces varied slightly in size with a total area of 147 square ells , each square ell costed at six francs, to a total of 883 francs 10 sou. The set

5439-438: The Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland could make use of the palace during the General Assembly 's annual meeting, and this tradition continues today. On the first visit of Queen Victoria to Scotland in 1842, she also stayed at Dalkeith Palace, and was prevented from visiting Holyrood due to an outbreak of scarlet fever in the vicinity. Renovations were carried out by Robert Matheson of

5586-462: The Mathiolus tapestry mentioned in later inventories, and a Solomon , which may be Judgement of Solomon noted in September 1561, of worsett with gold. Alternatively, Susan Groag Bell wonders if this Mathiolus was the first scene of the City of Ladies suite bought in 1538, featuring the name of the author Matheolus as a protagonist illustrating the works of Christine de Pisan . The subject of

5733-448: The Office of Works in preparation for the queen and Prince Albert 's 1850 residence at the palace, and the King's Apartments were refurbished by David Ramsay Hay : the King's Closet was used as the queen's breakfast room, the King's Ante-Chamber as the queen's bedroom, and the King's Bedchamber became Prince Albert's dressing room. A statue of Victoria was erected in the forecourt in 1851 (it

5880-653: The Order of the Thistle in May 1687 and Holyrood Abbey was designated as the chapel for the new order. The interiors of the chapel, and the Jesuit College, were subsequently destroyed by an anti-Catholic mob in December 1688, following the beginning of the Glorious Revolution . After the Union of Scotland and England in 1707 the palace lost its principal functions. The office of Lord High Commissioner ceased to exist, and with

6027-708: The Parliament . In April 1572, the Deanery at Restalrig was hung with tapestry for the English ambassadors Thomas Randolph and William Drury , and in September 1572, William Murray, the varlet of James VI 's bedchamber hung the tolbooth of Stirling with tapestry. On 7 October 1584, the Master of Gray was made Keeper of the Wardrobe, including the tapestry, with all officers of the household commanded to reverence, acknowledge and obey him. George Strathauchin (d. 1604), an embroiderer,

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6174-536: The Regent Moray took back from Hamilton Palace rich silk tapestry and beds that had belonging to James V. Packing canvas bought for goods seized from the castle at Hamilton ( Cadzow Castle ), including some of the royal tapestries. Packages and trunks from Hamilton were carried to Edinburgh by horses supervised by the gunner Harry Balfour. Mary had loaned some tapestry and furnishings to James Sandilands, 1st Lord Torphichen , which had been taken to Hamilton. Later, he

6321-528: The Siege of Troy , a subject found in Henry VIII's collection. Possibly, this tapestry was in mind when Mary of Guise, according to John Knox , remarked that the aftermath of the failed assault on Leith of 7 May 1560 was the fairest tapestry she had ever seen. James V's other named tapestries included the six Great and eight Little Unicorn pieces. The Great Unicorn set has been identified as another version of

6468-597: The dais beneath the Royal Arms of Scotland. In 1929 a new ceiling was installed that matched the others in the King's Apartments, and oak-panelled walls which incorporate paintings were installed. The paintings include the John Michael Wright portrait of Charles II and Peter Lely 's portraits of Catherine of Braganza , James VII and Mary of Modena. The Evening Drawing Room was originally Charles II's Presence Chamber, where important visitors would have been received by

6615-477: The tapissiers or 'tapestry men' packed up the tapestries and set them up at his destination, and carried out running repairs. George Steill bound up twelve scenes of the History of Aeneas with cords and carried them from Edinburgh to St Andrews in May 1539 for the marriage of Joanna Gresmore to Robert Beaton of Creich . The "tapesar" came with the wardrobe servant Malcolm Gourlay to furnish tents for James V and Mary of Guise in Glenartney and Glen Finglas for

6762-426: The 15th-century building works of James IV was discovered. The team failed to locate evidence of the real tennis court used by Queen Mary to the north of the palace, as the area had been built over in the 19th century. An area of reddened earth was discovered, which was linked with the Earl of Hertford's burning of Holyrood during the Rough Wooing of 1544. Among the objects found were a seal matrix used to stamp

6909-476: The 21st century in Detroit and New York City , although as of 2016 the mayors of both cities live in the official residences. In the case of Denver , no mayor has ever lived in the official residence; the city instead makes it available to certain non-profit groups for special functions. The following are official residences maintained by private, nongovernmental institutions: Scottish Royal tapestry collection The Scottish royal tapestry collection

7056-440: The 3,000-piece silver banqueting service commissioned to mark the Silver Jubilee of George V in 1935. The King's Apartments occupied the whole of the south and east sides of the Quadrangle. Accessed from the Great Stair, the suite of rooms comprised a guard chamber, presence chamber, privy chamber, antechamber, bedchamber and closet. The level of privacy, as well as the richness of decoration, increased in sequence. The Throne Room

7203-434: The Castle for safety and watched by Regent Arran's wardrobe servant Malcolm Gourlay. Regent Arran borrowed the royal tapestry for his daughter Barbara Hamilton's wedding to Lord Gordon in February 1549, and after it had been cleaned by six apprentices it was brought out for the visit of Mary of Guise's brother, the Marquis de Maine . The best tapestry was brought out to decorate the hall and Chapel of Holyroodhouse for

7350-544: The City of Ladies . Other sets of this subject belonged to Margaret of Austria , Mary of Hungary , Anne of Brittany and Francis I. The other tapestry bought in Paris and packed for shipping to Rouen was the Creation of World , of which nine pieces were at Holyroodhouse in 1561, and in Edinburgh Castle in 1578. In 1616, Alexander Seton had some 'auld and worne' pieces described as the Storie of Mankynd at Dunfermline Palace. The set could possibly have been The World series, depicting various moral allegories and including

7497-432: The Dutch carpenters Alexander Eizat and Jan van Santvoort, and their compatriot Jacob de Wet who painted several ceilings. The elaborate plasterwork was carried out by the English plasterers John Houlbert and George Dunsterfield. In November 1679, James, Duke of Albany , the future James VII, and his wife, Mary of Modena , took up residence at Holyrood following James's appointment as Lord High Commissioner. They resided at

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7644-418: The Gallery during his brief occupation , and following his victory at the Battle of Falkirk Muir in January 1746, the defeated government troops were quartered in the Gallery. While the Comte d'Artois was in residence it served as a Catholic chapel, and in the early 20th century it was used as the State Dining Room. Today it is used for large functions including investitures and banquets. The Gallery contains

7791-411: The Keeper of Holyroodhouse. The constables now form a ceremonial guard at the palace. Following the French Revolution , George III allowed the Comte d'Artois , the exiled younger brother of Louis XVI of France , to live at the palace. Artois – who would accede to the French throne in 1824 as Charles X – resided at Holyrood from 1796 to 1803. He occupied the King's Apartments, and during this period

7938-681: The Keys , in which the King is formally presented with the keys of Edinburgh by the Lord Provost of Edinburgh , is held on the forecourt on his arrival. The wedding reception of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall was held in the palace following their wedding at the Canongate Kirk in 2011. In its role as the official residence of the monarch in Scotland, Holyrood has hosted a number of foreign visitors and dignitaries, including kings Olav V and Harald V of Norway, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden , Mikhail Gorbachev , François Mitterrand , Helmut Kohl , Nelson Mandela , Vladimir Putin , Mary McAleese , Pope Benedict XVI , and Justin Trudeau . A meeting of

8085-411: The King's Apartments to be used as public apartments. From 1854 the historic apartments in James V's Tower were formally opened to the public. Victoria last resided at the palace in November 1886. Although Edward VII visited briefly in 1903, it was George V who transformed Holyrood into a modern palace, with the installation of central heating, electric lighting, the modernisation of the kitchens, and

8232-408: The King's Master Mason. The design included a gothic south-west tower to mirror the existing north-west tower, a plan which had existed since at least Charles I's time. Following criticism of Bruce's initial plans for the internal layout from Charles II, Bruce redesigned the layout to provide suites of royal apartments on the first floor, with the Queen's Apartments (built for Catherine of Braganza ) in

8379-443: The Mexico the Palacio de Gobierno , or Government Palace, was the official residence the governor, they are now maintained solely as the relevant governor's offices. Querétaro Former residence Official estates of the Swiss Federal Council : Some mayors in cities with an official mayor's residence choose instead to reside at their private residence, using the official residence for official functions only. This has occurred in

8526-407: The Queen's Guard Chamber and formed part of the Queen's Apartments. The Dining Room's Adam style decoration dates from around 1800, when this was part of the Duke of Hamilton's apartments. The room was first used as a dining room at the end of Queen Victoria's reign, and continues to be used as such. The room features portraits of Bonnie Prince Charlie, George IV, Victoria and Elizabeth II, along with

8673-514: The Removing Wardrobe at the Tower of London to furnish her rooms. These included six pieces of the Passion , six pieces of the History of Ladies , and seven pieces of Hercules ; the latter two subjects are found in the earlier Scottish inventories. At Sheffield Manor in February 1577 she had her own tapestries of Aeneas and Meleager . In January 1585, when Mary was again being moved to Tutbury, Queen Elizabeth recalled that Regent Moray had sent plate, hangings and other items to Mary while she

8820-455: The Royal Family are located on the second floor of the south and east wings. The 17 rooms open to the public include the 17th-century State Apartments, the Great Gallery, and the 16th-century apartments in James V's Tower. The painting An Incident in the Rebellion of 1745 by David Morier is in the lobby of the Palace. The Great Stair in the south-west corner of the Quadrangle has a 17th-century Baroque ceiling featuring plaster angels holding

8967-424: The State Dining Room, and annual garden parties are hosted in the gardens. When the King is in residence, the Scottish version of the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom is flown; at all other times, the Royal Banner of Scotland is displayed. During the King's visits, the Royal Company of Archers form his ceremonial bodyguard and the High Constables of Holyroodhouse provide a guard of honour . The Ceremony of

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9114-438: The Tam o' Shanter Chair, a Gothic-style oak armchair which celebrates the work of Robert Burns . It was made by John Underwood of Ayr from a portion of the roof of Alloway Auld Kirk , which is the setting for much of the poem " Tam o' Shanter ". By the time that Burns was at the height of his fame, the Kirk had become a ruin and the timbers of the roof were used to make a number of Burns-related memorabilia and souvenirs. The chair

9261-431: The Throne Room from 11 to 12 September, before being taken in procession to St Giles' Cathedral . These were the first obsequies held in Scotland for a monarch since the burial of James V at Holyrood Abbey in January 1543. Investitures and banquets are held in the palace's Great Gallery, audiences are held in the Morning Drawing Room, lunch parties and receptions take place in the Throne Room, dinner parties are held in

9408-412: The abbey church connect to the palace on the north-east corner. For the internal quadrangle, Bruce designed a colonnaded piazza of nine arches on the north, south and east facades with pilasters, again from the three classical orders, to indicate the importance of the three main floors. The plain Doric order is used for the services of the ground floor, the Ionic order is used for the State Apartments on

9555-453: The abolition of the Privy Council in 1708 the Council Chamber became redundant. The Dukes of Hamilton , as Hereditary Keepers, had already taken over the Queen's Apartments in James V's Tower 1684, while the King's Apartments were neglected, and various nobles occupied the grace-and-favour apartments in the palace. Holyrood briefly became a royal palace once again when Charles Edward Stuart , as 'Prince Regent' for his father , set up court at

9702-428: The addition of new bathrooms and a lift. In 1922 the palace was selected as the site of the Scottish National Memorial to Edward VII and a statue of Edward was erected on the forecourt, facing the abbey. As part of the memorial, the forecourt was also enclosed with boundary walls, richly decorated wrought-iron railings and gates. The palace was formally designated as the monarch's official residence in Scotland and became

9849-480: The ancient god series of the Chambers . Similarly, a three piece History of Romulus was listed in 1542. The Old History of Troy of eight or nine pieces listed in 1539 and 1542 was perhaps a Stewart inheritance, old and already described as worn out, so distinguished from the Aeneas . The family of Mary of Guise's first husband, Louis II d'Orléans, Duc de Longueville , had Troy tapestries at their Château de Châteaudun as early as 1468. The thirteen pieces of

9996-513: The annual meeting of the General Assembly . The ruined Augustinian Holyrood Abbey that stands next to the palace was founded in 1128 on the orders of King David I . The name derives either from a legendary vision of the cross witnessed by David I, or from a relic of the True Cross known as the Holy Rood or Black Rood, which had belonged to Saint Margaret , David's mother. As a royal foundation, and sited close to Edinburgh Castle , it became an important administrative centre. A Papal legate

10143-438: The biblical Roboam which appears in most inventories also dates from 1539. Henry VIII had a six piece suite and a nine-piece suite of the History of Muliager , the latter suitable for a low gallery. This may have been a copy of the famous tapestry commissioned by François Ier from designs by Giulio Romano , the Gestes of Scipion , the story of Scipio Africanus , which includes the scene Siege of Carthagena . However, like

10290-411: The ceremonies and masques in February 1566 when Nicolas d'Angennes , seigneur of Rambouillet , brought the Order of Saint Michael for Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley . After the battle of Carberry Hill , when Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle , the tapestry in Holyrood Palace was taken down and stored in Edinburgh Castle in October 1567. Tapestry remained in place to decorate

10437-459: The city of Arras , now in France, was at one point the leading centre of tapestry-making, and the name stuck in Britain. The tapestries were frequently carried between the palaces, especially to impress foreign diplomats. In January 1495 tapestries were put in the king's chamber at Holyrood Palace to impress the Chancellor of Denmark by James Dog, a wardrobe servant described in two poems by William Dunbar , Of James Dog and He Is Na Dog, He Is

10584-574: The countess's hopes and ambitions for her grandson, the future James VI. The Jewel was purchased by Queen Victoria from the collection of Horace Walpole in 1842. The Memorial to Lord Darnley was also commissioned by Lord Darnley's parents, after his murder, and may implicate Queen Mary in his death. Several of the inscriptions have been removed, possibly by James VI, depicted as a child in the picture, mourning his father. The compartmented oak ceiling in Mary, Queen of Scots' Bedchamber dates from Queen Mary's time, and

10731-481: The court pay-roll. The rooms were decorated with a painted frieze at the top of the wall and plain beneath where the tapestries hung. Henry VIII of England had nearly 2000 tapestries and James V had 200. Eleven pieces of royal tapestry were destroyed in the explosion at Kirk o' Field in February 1567 that killed the King Consort of Scotland, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley . The names of many others were recorded, and

10878-471: The cross near the palace for three hours in December 1564. The series of famous audiences Mary gave to John Knox took place in her audience chamber at Holyrood, and she married her second husband, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley , in her private chapel in July 1565. It was in the royal apartments that Mary witnessed the murder of David Rizzio , her private secretary, on 9 March 1566. Darnley and several nobles entered

11025-666: The demolition of all the outlying buildings to the north and south of the quadrangle, and the refacing of the south front. Following the July Revolution of 1830, Charles X of France went into exile again, and he arrived to reside at Holyrood again in October, along with his grandson and heir, Henri, Count of Chambord , the Duke and Duchess of Angoulême , the Duchess of Berry , Louise Marie Thérèse d'Artois , and their household. The Bourbons remained in Edinburgh until September 1832, when they moved to Prague . In 1834 William IV agreed that

11172-435: The embroiderer William Betoun for the baptism of Prince Henry. In 1635, Charles I wrote to John Stewart, 1st Earl of Traquair , Treasurer of Scotland , insisting on the payment of the wardrobe servants, so that hangings, cloths-of-estate, and beds could be aired. The remaining tapestries at Holyrood would have been seized by Commonwealth troops in 1650. In April 1656, soldiers retrieved and sent to Whitehall four pieces of

11319-515: The embroiderer Robinet, were doubtless Frenchmen, but William Edbe was Scottish. Habet may have been the "Jacques Hebert" later hired by the Parisian master weaver Girard Laurens in 1564. There was extra work when the tapestry was taken out of the castles and used on other occasions. In May 1544, when an English army burnt Edinburgh , the tapestries were carried up the Royal Mile from Holyroodhouse to

11466-568: The family trading rights in Scotland. The Tint Barne , the History of the Lost Child , might appear to be the same subject as the History of Tobias . However the five-piece Tobias was listed in 1539 and also in 1542, along with the seven-piece Tint Barne . The subject of the tinte barne was probably the Prodigal Son , a subject listed many times in the inventory of Henry VIII, and Cardinal Wolsey had seven pieces. These were delivered by

11613-680: The famous tapestries, The Hunt of the Unicorn , now in The Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Faithful copies using the original technique are being made for display in the Palace of Stirling Castle. These unicorn tapestries had belonged to his father, James IV, but the subject was still popular in 1540, when Pierre de Clanquemeulle, companion tapestry maker, was hired by Léon Brocart, master weaver in Paris, to complete two pieces of La Chasse à la licorne . Seven pieces of

11760-520: The first floor, it may also have been protected by a moat , and provided a high degree of security. The south range was remodelled, and the old queen's apartments were converted into a new chapel, and the former chapel in the north range was converted into the Council Chamber, where ceremonial events normally took place. James IV's west range was demolished and a new west range in the Renaissance style

11907-419: The first floor, while the elaborate Corinthian order is used for the royal apartments on the second floor. Architectural historian Dan Cruickshank selected the palace as one of his eight choices for the 2002 BBC book The Story of Britain's Best Buildings . The palace covers 87,120 square feet (8,093 m2) of floor space and contains 289 rooms. The private apartments of the King and the other members of

12054-425: The first of several kings to be buried at Holyrood Abbey, and James II was born, crowned, married, and buried there. James III and Margaret of Denmark were married at Holyrood in 1469. The early royal residence was in the abbey guesthouse, and by the later 15th century the king occupied dedicated royal lodgings. Between 1501 and 1505, James IV constructed a Gothic palace adjacent to the abbey. The impetus for

12201-401: The gallery and on the stairs, each costing £3. Five other smaller verdures of various sizes cost £11-4s. Ten fine verdures were bought from John Stewart; three with 'beasts' cost £4-10s each, seven with no beasts cost £4 each (the 'beasts' may have been unicorns). Four other verdures bought for beds were in quality, 'nocht sa gude', and cost only 40 shillings each. Before Margaret left England,

12348-688: The hunts in September 1539. Eight pieces of tapestry were specially repaired for the coronation of Mary of Guise in January 1540, and others were often relined with new canvas. Jacques Habet, William Edbe, and George Steill lined the rough or newly plastered walls of the castle at Crawfordjohn to save wear on tapestries in July 1541. Apart from this work, the men also made up and embroidered state beds with luxury imported silks and taffetas with hanks of gold thread, finished with passementerie and ostrich feather trimmings. Guillaume, hired in France in 1538, Habet, and

12495-511: The keepership of James Sandilands , perhaps the one later said to have been cut by "Andro Cockburn fule." The other six pieces were destroyed at the Kirk o'Field explosion. Another tapestry of the "Rabbit Hunt" had been made into bed curtains. The Burrell Collection in Glasgow has an example of a tapestry of this subject, dated from c. 1475. James IV bought one scene of Marcus Coriolanus , which may be

12642-511: The king's African servants including Ellen More in the winter of 1504. Two inventories of 1539 and 1543 list the tapestries of James V. Some of these had belonged to James IV, though Gavin Douglas said that Regent Albany had cut up royal crimson and purple hangings to make clothes for his servants and pages, but many were bought by James V, or were presents from Francis I of France on his marriage to Madeleine of Valois . A 1532 contract for

12789-555: The king's favourite, Esmé Stewart . The coronation of James's queen, Anne of Denmark , took place in Holyrood Abbey in 1590, at which time the royal household at the palace numbered around 600 persons. James VI kept a menagerie of animals at Holyrood including a lion, a tiger, and a lynx. The palace was not however secure enough to prevent the king and queen being surprised in their lodgings during two raids in December 1591 and July 1593 by Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell ,

12936-418: The king's lodgings and the entrance to the palace. The master mason Walter Merlioun built a two-storey gatehouse, which was demolished in 1753, although fragments of it remain in the 19th-century Abbey Court House which stands on Abbey Strand. The upper floor of the gatehouse was a workshop for the glazier Thomas Peebles until 1537, when it was converted into a space for mending the royal tapestries . In 1512

13083-502: The king. The ornate plasterwork ceiling is one of the original series designed to mark the processional route to the King's Bedchamber. The Royal Family use the room for receptions. The Morning Drawing Room was Charles II's Privy Chamber. The ceiling is decorated in the corners with cherubs and eagles bearing the cipher of Charles II and the Honours of Scotland , while the long central panels feature heraldic lions and unicorns . The French tapestries purchased for Charles II in 1668 tell

13230-420: The location for regular royal ceremonies and events. The British monarch spends one week (known as "Royal Week") at the palace each summer. While serving as Duke of Rothesay , Charles III also stayed at Holyrood for one week a year, carrying out official duties. Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle in September 2022, her coffin was transported to the palace, where it lay in repose in

13377-463: The making of a tapestry altar frontal for James V by François van Cralotte of Bruges survives in the National Library of Scotland . An inventory of September 1561 made by Servais de Condé lists tapestries and other hangings belonging to Mary of Guise , and another compiled on 25 November lists Mary, Queen of Scots ' collection. These lists have marginal notes describing the later locations of

13524-415: The monograms IR (Jacobus Rex) and MR (Maria Regina) refer to her parents, James V and Mary of Guise . Below the ceiling is a frieze, painted in grisaille with the Honours of Scotland . The gardens of the palace extend to some 10 acres (4.0 ha), set within the much larger Holyrood Park . In the 16th century, a privy garden was located to the north of the palace, accessed via a wooden gallery from

13671-451: The north-west tower. This was removed in 1857 when Prince Albert took an interest in the grounds, forming a new carriage drive to the north to avoid the Canongate slums and laying out the garden in its present form. A small garden building, surviving from the 16th century, is known as Queen Mary's Bath House, although it is not thought to have been used for bathing. The sundial to the north of

13818-404: The office of Hereditary Keeper of the palace. In November 1650, the palace was damaged extensively by fire while it was occupied by Oliver Cromwell 's troops. After this, much of the palace was abandoned. Following the restoration of Charles II in 1660, Holyrood once again became a royal palace and the meeting place of the reconstituted Privy Council . Repairs were put in hand to allow use of

13965-490: The other apartments were to be given over as lodgings for various officers of state. As Lord High Commissioner from 1669 to 1678, John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale was vicegerent in Scotland and, as the principal occupant of the new palace, he closely supervised the building operations. Plans for complete reconstruction were drawn up by Sir William Bruce , the Surveyor General of the King's Works , and Robert Mylne ,

14112-516: The palace by the Earl of Lauderdale , the Secretary of State , and a full survey was carried out in 1663 by John Mylne . In 1670, the Privy Council decided to almost completely rebuild the palace. Apart from Holyrood and Windsor Castle , Charles II failed to complete any of his palace modernisation schemes, largely due to lack of money. The reason that Holyrood was seen as a priority and was completed

14259-571: The palace for six weeks in September and October 1745, during the Jacobite Rising . Charles occupied the Duke of Hamilton's apartments rather than the King's Apartments, and held balls and other entertainments in the Great Gallery. In January 1746, following their defeat by the Jacobite army at the Battle of Falkirk Muir , the government troops of Henry Hawley who were billeted in the palace damaged

14406-501: The palace since 1684, and was probably made for the Dukes of Hamilton, although it was long referred to as "Queen Mary's Bed" when it occupied Mary, Queen of Scots' rooms. The King's Closet was designed to be the king's study. The Great Gallery, at 150 feet (45 m) in length, is the largest room in the palace and connects the King's Closet on the east side with the Queen's Lobby in James V's Tower to

14553-513: The palace until February 1680, and then again from October 1680 to May 1682, and during this period culture flourished in Edinburgh under the patronage of James's vice-regal court. His daughter Anne also resided at Holyrood between 1681 and 1682. When James acceded to the throne in 1685, the Catholic king set up a Jesuit college in the Chancellor's Lodging to the south of the palace. James VII founded

14700-415: The palace was carved in 1633 by John Mylne , while the sandstone fountain in the centre of the forecourt was erected in 1858 by Robert Matheson and is based on the design of the 16th-century fountain at Linlithgow Palace . The ornamental screens and the decorative wrought-iron entrance gates to the north, west and south of the forecourt were designed by George Washington Browne and were erected in 1920 as

14847-414: The palace was refurbished. Artois took advantage of the sanctuary provided by the abbey to avoid his creditors. His sons, Louis Antoine and Charles Ferdinand , also spent periods at Holyrood with their father. William Murray Nairne, 5th Lord Nairne , was appointed Assistant Inspector-General of Barracks in Scotland in 1806 and he and his wife, the songwriter and avid Jacobite Carolina Oliphant , enjoyed

14994-708: The palaces. Subjects supplied by William Schaw listed in 1539 include; seven pieces of Poesy ; seven pieces of Jason and Golden Fleece ; and seven pieces of Venus , Pallas , Hercules , Mars , Bacchus , and Gaia ( Mother of the Earth ), with the Biblical History of Solomon . Only six pieces of the Jason were listed in 1542. Four pieces of the Solomon were listed in September 1561, and noted circa 1568 to be at Stirling. The others are not heard of again. The Little Solomon

15141-556: The palaces: six dozen hooks were bought for hangings in the new Great Hall of Stirling Castle in November 1503; in February 1506, the 'Cloths of Hercules' were taken from Edinburgh to Linlithgow Palace . There was a fire in October 1506 and burnt tapestries were packed in barrels and taken to Leith. The Italian merchant Jerome Frescobaldi , who was based in Bruges , made arrangements for their repair in Flanders. The merchant James Hommyl hosted

15288-414: The queen's apartments via the private stair from Darnley's own apartments below. Bursting in on the queen, Rizzio and four other courtiers, who were at supper, they dragged Rizzio through the bedchamber and into the outer chamber, where he was stabbed to death, allegedly receiving fifty-seven dagger wounds. Mary married her third husband, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, at the palace in May 1567. During

15435-429: The relics associated with Queen Mary are an embroidery of a cat and a mouse, made whilst she was in captivity in England. This possibly alludes to her relationship with her cousin, Elizabeth I of England , with Mary as the mouse and Elizabeth the cat. The so-called 'Darnley Jewel', was probably made for Margaret, Countess of Lennox , mother of Queen Mary's second husband, Lord Darnley. The emblems and inscriptions refer to

15582-402: The roof and swept them both away. James V added to the palace between 1528 and 1536, beginning with the present James V's Tower, which is the oldest surviving part of the palace. This huge rectangular tower, rounded at the corners, provided new royal lodgings at the north-west corner of the palace. Originally equipped with a drawbridge leading to the main entrance (protected with a yett ) on

15729-429: The rooms at Stirling Castle, where James VI was brought up. In April 1569, tapestry was hung in Glasgow for the French ambassador. When English soldiers came to Scotland in 1570, William Maitland of Lethington ordered Servais de Condé to transport the tapestry and furnishings of Holyroodhouse to Edinburgh Castle. In August 1571, William Murray brought tapestry from Stirling Castle to decorate Stirling Tolbooth for

15876-480: The rooms in James V's Tower from 1684, and the Ante-Chamber became the Duke's dining room. Much of the decoration of this room dates from the mid nineteenth century, when the historical apartments in James V's Tower were opened to visitors. The room also contains a series of tapestries and portraits of Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia , the daughter of James VI. The Queen's Bedroom (also known as Lord Darnley's Bedchamber)

16023-548: The royal bloodline of Scotland which the Scots upheld for its continuity and antiquity as an important part of their national identity in the seventeenth century. The Great Gallery has served many purposes over the centuries. Following the Union of 1707 it was the venue for the election of Scottish representative peers in the House of Lords until 1963. Bonnie Prince Charlie held evening balls in

16170-488: The royal portraits in the Gallery. The Duke of Cumberland also occupied the apartments in James V's Tower during his march north to Culloden . The potential of the palace as a tourist attraction was already being recognised, with the Duke of Hamilton allowing paying guests to view Mary, Queen of Scots´ apartments in James V's Tower. The precincts of Holyrood Abbey, extending to the whole of Holyrood Park , had been designated as

16317-512: The same year, and after the Scottish Reformation was formalised, the abbey buildings were neglected. The choir and transepts of the abbey church were pulled down in 1570. The nave was retained as the parish church of the Canongate . The royal apartments in James V's Tower were occupied by Mary, Queen of Scots from her return to Scotland in 1561 to her forced abdication in 1567. The palace

16464-767: The story of Diana , the goddess of the hunt. Charles III uses the Morning Drawing Room to give private audiences to the First Minister , the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament , and other visiting dignitaries. The King's Antechamber, Bedchamber and Closet are laid out along the east side of the palace. The King's Bedchamber, at the centre of the east façade, has the finest of the 17th-century plaster ceilings, augmented by paintings of Hercules by Jacob de Wet II . The 17th-century State Bed has been in

16611-423: The subjects are the same as those listed in other royal collections, and some examples survive in museums around the world. Some of the tapestries showed Biblical themes, or subjects with medieval roots, but most were stories from classical antiquity, reflecting Renaissance taste, and some were scenes from the hunting field. James IV owned tapestries, which are usually called the "arras" in records of his court;

16758-574: The subsequent Marian civil war , on 25 July 1571, William Kirkcaldy of Grange bombarded the king's men garrisoned inside the palace with cannon positioned in the Black Friar Yard, near the Pleasance . Parliament met in the Palace on 30 April 1573. James VI took up residence at Holyrood in 1579 when he began his personal rule. The palace was refurbished by William MacDowall with a new north gallery painted by Walter Binning , and an apartment for

16905-549: The tapestries named in the Scottish inventories mentioned below. In October 1546, a merchant from Antwerp or Lille , Eustace de Coqueil, wrote to Mary of Guise offering her histories and other tapestries, but it seems unlikely that any were bought during this brief period of peace in the war of the Rough Wooing . Another member of this family, Ogier de Coqueil, set up as a merchant in Edinburgh and sold silverware. On 20 February 1557, Mary of Guise granted Eustace de Coqueil, his wife Barbara Bullestraitt and several other members of

17052-573: The tapestries were aired there. A separate subject from the Jason , listed in 1539 as the History of Maliasor , this six-piece tapestry of Meleager was at Fotheringhay Castle in 1587 as Mary's own possession. At Fotheringhay, Mary, Queen of Scots, also had the six pieces of the History of Count Foix and the Battle of Ravenna , from the Scottish collection, but as this set was only previously listed in November 1561 it might not have belonged to her parents. An eighteenth-century engraving of Gaston de Foix

17199-427: The tapestries. Mary Queen of Scots added to the royal collection by confiscating 45 tapestries belonging to the Earl of Huntly at Huntly Castle in October 1562. These included one set of large leaf verdures and other set with leaves and birds. Five of the eleven tapestries destroyed at Kirk o' Field were from Huntly, the other were from a suite depicting a "Rabbit Hunt". After the battle of Langside in May 1568,

17346-564: The tapestry agent of Henry VII of England , Cornelius van der Strete , had been paid £7-8s (English money) for making or supplying 74 Flemish ells of tapestry for the Scottish Consort Queen. The historian and curator Thomas P. Campbell suggests these may have been simple armorial tapestries or borders to be attached to figural tapestries purchased elsewhere. James Dog fixed hooks in the rooms of Holyrood Palace for tapestry. The English Somerset Herald , John Young, described some of

17493-632: The tapestry at Holyroodhouse on the two days of celebration. Young noted the hangings in the two outer rooms of the King and Queen's suites where meals were served. The Queen's hall was hung with the History of Hercules , and her great chamber with the History of Troy Town . The King's hall was hung with the History of Old Troy , and his great chamber with Hercules and other stories. Possibly some of these tapestries were brought to Scotland by Margaret, perhaps with new borders including Tudor heraldry supplied by Cornelis van der Strete. The royal treasurer's accounts record payments for carrying tapestry between

17640-494: The three principal rooms of the king's royal lodging. Some of the tapestries then displayed in Stirling Castle may have been in place for decades, others had recently been storage in Edinburgh Castle with Mary's goods. In June 1578 "certain great pieces of tapestry" and coffers of furnishings were loaded on a boat at Leith and shipped to Cambuskenneth and the castle. An inventory of Stirling Castle made on 6 May 1584 records

17787-425: The two-storey west front with regular arrangement of bays. General repairs were completed by the architect Robert Reid between 1824 and 1834 that included the partial rebuilding of the south-west corner tower and refacing of the entire south front in ashlar to match that of the east. The east (rear) elevation has 17 bays with lightly superimposed pilasters of the three classical orders on each floor. The ruins of

17934-600: The use of the Royal Apartments as one of the perks of the post. During his visit to Scotland in 1822 , King George IV became the first reigning monarch since Charles I in 1641 to visit Holyrood. Although he was lodged at Dalkeith Palace , the king held a levée at Holyrood, received addresses, and was shown the historic apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots. He ordered repairs to the palace but declared that Queen Mary's rooms should be protected from any future changes. Between 1824 and 1834, Robert Reid oversaw works including

18081-476: The wax seal on correspondence or documents, and a French double tournois coin, minted by Gaston d'Orléans in 1634. Official residence The provinces of Ontario and Quebec no longer have official residences for their lieutenant governors , but do provide them with accommodations; in the case of Ontario, only if necessary. There is a Government House in Regina, Saskatchewan , though it does not serve as

18228-410: The west range and the King's Apartments in the south and east ranges. The two were linked by the Great Gallery to the north, and the Council Chamber occupied the south-west tower. Construction began in July 1671, starting at the north-west, which was ready for use by Lauderdale the following year, and by 1674 much of the work was complete. In 1675 Lord Haltoun became the first of many nobles to take up

18375-638: The west. The Gallery features a pair of black marble chimneypieces within Doric surrounds, framed by Ionic pilasters. The most notable decorative features of the gallery are 96 of the 111 original portraits of the Scottish monarchs , beginning with the legendary Fergus I , who supposedly ruled from 330 BC. The Dutch painter Jacob de Wet was commissioned by Charles II to paint the portraits, illustrating both real and legendary monarchs, from Fergus I to James VII. The portraits were completed between 1684 and 1686, and celebrate

18522-522: The work of the trust as custodians of the Royal Collection . In April 2016 the Royal Collection Trust announced it was to fund a £10m project to redevelop the outside space at Holyrood, including the abbey, grounds and forecourt. The project was completed at the end of 2018 in partnership with Historic Environment Scotland, and included the restoration of the Abbey Strand buildings which now house

18669-440: The work probably came from the marriage of James IV to Margaret Tudor , which took place in the abbey in August 1503 while work was still ongoing. The palace was built around a quadrangle , situated west of the abbey cloister. It contained a chapel, gallery, royal apartments, and a great hall. The chapel occupied the north range of the quadrangle, with the queen's apartments occupying part of the south range. The west range contained

18816-431: Was James's "tapiser" with annual salary of £40 and lodgings. In October 1589 Strathauchin packed up tapestries in chests to ship to Norway and Denmark with James VI when he went to meet his bride Anne of Denmark , and travelled with the king to furnish the royal lodgings. Strathauchin and the master of work William Schaw decorated St Giles Kirk with tapestry for the coronation of Anne of Denmark . In September 1598 he

18963-401: Was a group of tapestry hangings assembled to decorate the palaces of sixteenth-century kings and queens of Scotland . None appear to have survived. Like other European monarchs, the kings and queens of Scotland sought to impress their subjects and diplomatic visitors in costly surroundings. At Château de Fontainebleau in 1540, the King of France himself helped the English ambassador onto

19110-520: Was a prisoner at Tutbury Castle , six pieces of series called the History of Ladies were sent from the Tower of London. This was probably one of three sets of the City of Ladies that had belonged to Henry VIII, listed in the inventory of 1547 , which were identical in size piece by piece to the Scottish tapestries. These had decorated the childhood homes of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Edward . The subject derives from Christine de Pizan 's The Book of

19257-456: Was also noted in September 1561, another set, or perhaps three of the seven scenes pieces bought by William Schaw. The seven-piece History of Perseus was presumably of this group, though not linked in the inventories of 1539 and 1540 to William Schaw's purchase. James IV had bought one piece of a History of Hercules , and nine were listed in 1542. This was a suite separate to the Hercules in

19404-726: Was also tapestry at Linlithgow Palace which had furnished a bedchamber for Prince Henry. It had been cut through by the fool Andrew Cockburn. The Earl of Linlithgow had provided tapestry for Princess Elizabeth's rooms. Among the remaining contents of the Royal Wardrobe at Holyroodhouse in 1617, three pieces of green velvet embroidered with gold holly leaves and the Longueville arms, which had belonged to Mary of Guise (Duchess of Longueville by her first marriage), were repaired by Nicolas Elsmeere for use during James's return visit to Scotland. These Longueville hangings had been repaired in 1594 by

19551-462: Was bought from a merchant called James Hommyll , who imported textiles from Flanders, which cost £160 Scots. These were a piece with the subject of Hercules , two pieces of Susanna sewn together, a Susanna bed cover, a Solomon , and a Marcus Coriolanus . The total measurement which, combined with quality, dictated the price, was 209 square ells . The tapestries were lined with canvas. A set of six verdure tapestries were bought for hanging in

19698-498: Was built to house new state rooms, including the royal library. The symmetrical composition of the west range suggested that a second tower at the south-west was planned, though this was never executed at the time. Around a series of lesser courts were ranged the Governor's Tower, the armoury, the mint, a forge, kitchens, and other service quarters. James V's first wife, Madeleine of Valois , died at Holyrood in 1537. The English armies of

19845-411: Was finished with canvas, cords, and ribbons, and sent to Rouen by boat and then to Newhaven in France for shipping, along with another set called the Old and New Stories . The area of the tapestry which "covers both the stories" was 250 square ells, at 5 francs 10 sou the ell, and cost 1,375 francs. The cost of a new tapestry per unit area is probably a good indication of quality. The Scottish suite

19992-520: Was heated with coal from Wallyford in East Lothian . The queen had archery butts erected in the south gardens to allow her to practise, and she hunted deer in Holyrood Park . There was also a flock of sheep in the park which were managed for the queen by the keeper, John Huntar . Some of her French servants formed relationships with women in the Canongate. The Kirk authorities disapproved and made five of these unmarried women stand with bared heads at

20139-491: Was in the custody of the Earl of Shrewsbury . The Earl wrote (to Lord Burghley ) that this was not the case and Elizabeth was mistaken: "to my knowledge since her commynge she never received any stuff or other things from him." Mary used tapestry to line her bedchamber at Tutbury against the cold, making a kind of tent. Her requests caused some confusion in the correspondence of John Somers and William Cecil . At Fotheringhay in 1587 she had six pieces of Meleager and six of

20286-631: Was now King of England and Ireland . With James's accession to the English throne and his move south to reside in London , the palace was no longer the seat of a permanent royal court . James visited in 1617, and the Chapel Royal was redecorated for the occasion. The west front was remodelled in 1633 in preparation for the coronation of Charles I at Holyrood Abbey, and Charles resided at the palace again from August to November 1641. In 1646 he conferred on James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton and his descendants

20433-495: Was occupied by Mary, Queen of Scots from 1561 until 1567. Mary Queen of Scots' Outer Chamber was where Mary, Queen of Scots received her visitors and where her famous audiences with John Knox took place. It is also the room in which David Rizzio , Mary's private secretary, was stabbed and his alleged bloodstain can be seen in the place where his body was left. The room is now used to display a range of Stuart and Jacobite relics that have been collected by successive monarchs. Among

20580-481: Was originally the King's Guard Chamber, but was used as the King's Drawing Room from the visit of George IV in 1822, when a throne and canopy of state were erected at the west end of the room for the levees hosted there. Queen Victoria used the room as a dining room, before it became the Throne Room in 1871. The 1822 throne was replaced in 1911 by a pair of throne chairs made for George V and Queen Mary, which sit upon

20727-443: Was presented to George IV in 1822. The suite of rooms on the first floor of James V's Tower is accessed from the Queen's Lobby and comprises the Queen's Antechamber and the Queen's Bedchamber, leading from which are two turret rooms or closets. During the 1560s these rooms were occupied by Lord Darnley and, following the rebuilding of the palace in the 1670s, they became part of the Queen's Apartments. The Duke of Hamilton took over

20874-616: Was probably the ten-piece Old Testament listed in the inventory of 1539. Only one piece was noted in 1542, and none was heard of again in Scotland. A set with a similar name, the New Law and the Old , was listed among Catherine of Aragon 's effects in February 1536. The English "Old and New Law" tapestries were a subject now usually known as the "Redemption of Man". A set of eleven pieces may have been bought by Henry VII. Wolsey bought another set for Hampton Court . The Earl of Sussex had six pieces of

21021-507: Was questioned about these items, he said that Servais de Condé had received, "so many books, and such moveables, which were all dispersed, dimembered, and spoilt by the soldiers, and [by] harling them on sleds through the foul moors and taking no accompt of the keeping of them when they were in Hamilton". Possibly Regent Moray and his agent Nicolas Elphinstone sold tapestries abroad in 1568 along with Mary's pearls, selected royal jewels , and

21168-562: Was received here in 1177, while in 1189 a council of nobles met to discuss a ransom for the captive William the Lion . The Parliament of Scotland met at the abbey seven times between 1256 and 1410, and in 1328 the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton was signed by Robert the Bruce in the 'King's Chamber' at the abbey, indicating that it may already have been in use as a royal residence. In 1371, David II became

21315-545: Was replaced by the fountain in 1858), and in 1855–56 the King's Drawing Room (the present Throne Room) was refitted by Robert Matheson. Over the next few years, the lodgings of the various nobles were gradually repossessed and, in 1871, Victoria was able to take possession of the second-floor apartments formerly occupied by the Dukes of Argyll (by virtue of their position as Masters of the Household ) as her private apartments, freeing up

21462-449: Was said to derive from a similar tapestry. Amias Paulet , her gaoler, spent £113-10s in English money on lining, packing, and hanging eight pieces of her tapestry during her move from Chartley to Fotheringhay Castle . Mary wished the Meleager and Ravenna to be sold after her death, with cloths-of-estate, to fund the return journeys of her physician and Mr Melville. Like the Meleager ,

21609-460: Was that the rebuilding of the palace was paid for by the Privy Council. Following the failure of proposals for political union with England in 1669, the Council wanted to emphasise Edinburgh's position as a royal capital and seat of government. At the time, it seemed unlikely that Charles II would ever visit Edinburgh. In practice, the royal apartments would be occupied by the Lord High Commissioner , and

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