Holyrood Palace

Today we went to Holyrood Palace which is the Queen's official residence in Scotland. It is located at the opposite end of the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle. Holyrood Abbey was founded by David I, King of Scots in 1128. The name comes from a legendary vision of the cross witnessed by David I, or from a relic of the 'True Cross' known as the Holy Rood, and which had belonged to Queen Margaret, David's mother. We stood inside the ruins of this Abbey today. The chapel at Edinburgh Castle which I saw yesterday was built in Margaret's honour by David I. 

Between 1501 and 1505 James IV constructed a new palace adjacent to the abbey. The palace was built around a quadrangle, situated west of the abbey cloister. It contained a chapel, gallery, royal apartments and a great hall. Successive kings and queens have made the Palace of Holyroodhouse the premier royal residence in Scotland, although it has also had a turbulent past.

Mary Queen of Scots lived here between 1561 and until her forced abdication in 1567. She married both of her Scottish husbands in the palace: Lord Darnley in 1565 in the chapel and James Hepburn the 4th Earl of Bothwell in 1567 in the great hall. It was in her own apartments that she witnessed the murder of David Rizzio, her private secretary on 9th March 1566. Mary, Rizzio and some of her ladies were having supper in her apartments when Darnley and some others entered the Queen's apartment via the private stair from Darnley's bedroom downstairs. They burst in on the Queen and Rizzio was dragged through the bedchamber into the outer chamber while Mary was held at gunpoint. Rizzio was then stabbed 56 times! In February 1567 Darnley house was destroyed by an explosion and he was found murdered in the garden. Thirteen weeks after Darnley's death, Mary married Bothwell.

James VI (Mary's son) took up residence at Holyrood in 1579 at the age of 13 years. When James became King of England in 1603 and moved to London, the palace was no longer the seat of a permanent royal court. Since then the palace has had periods of renovation and periods where parts of the palce were torn down, for example by Oliver Cromwell's soldiers when parts of the palace were destroyed or used as barracks.

Today, the Palace is the setting for State ceremonies and official entertaining. During the Queen's Holyrood week (end of June to beginning of July) she carries out a wide range of official engagements in Scotland. Some of these duties include Investitures where people recieve awards and she also hosts a garden party. Her grandaughter Zara Phillips held her wedding reception here in 2011 and after we finished at the palce we walked past Canongate Kirk, the Church where the wedding took place.

Tonight is my last night in Scotland and I am very sad to leave!!! Since it was my last night we went to the Melville Inn and had a beautiful dinner. I have had a wonderful time staying with my Aunty and Uncle and they have really looked after me...I can't wait till they come to Australia in April! Tomorrow I say farewell to Scotland and the US part of my adventure begins...Tomorrow night I will be in New York!