Castle Holyroodhouse

Castle Holyroodhouse

The history of the Castle Holyroodhouse reaches back almost nine centuries.
According to legend, David I founded the Palace as an Augustinian monastery in 1128.

The Abbey prospered. With Edinburgh now recognised as Scotland's capital, her kings chose to live in Holyroodhouse, surrounded by parkland, rather than in the bleak Castle, high on a rock overlooking the town and exposed to the elements.

In 1501 James IV (1488-1513) cleared the ground close to the Abbey and built a castle for himself and his bride, Margaret Tudor (sister of Henry VIII). Only a fragment of the gatehouse survives today.
His successor James V (1513-42) added a massive Tower between 1528 and 1532, and a new west front south of the Tower between 1535 and 1536.
Mary, Queen of Scots spent most of her turbulent life in the Palace - a dramatic and often tragic chapter in the history of the building.
In the twentieth century, King George V and Queen Mary continued restoration and renovation work on the Castle…