Holyrood Palace is a pretty awesome place! They have little audio tours–even one for kids–that have lots of information and guide you throughout the whole palace.
I was in Scotland for a month summer of 2016, and when we were there we visited Holyrood Palace! We spent a whole day there, and listened to the audio tours. You weren’t allowed to take pictures in the Palace, but you could take pictures outside.
They have a lot of artifacts there, like jewelry and silver plates and things like that. I thought those were pretty cool!
Holyrood Palace is at the end of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, right by the Salisbury Crags and Arthur’s Seat. Queen Elizabeth II lives there for a week during the summer–it’s her official home in Scotland. She hosts lots of parties during that time, including her Garden Parties. Holyrood Palace has been home for many royals for over 500 years!
The palace is really beautiful. It has six plasterwork ceilings that were created by John Houlbert and George Dunsterfield. The ceilings mark the ceremonial route to the King’s Bedchamber. The palace has a silver dishes set that was designed for 100 people and has over 3000 pieces! The longest and largest room in the palace is the Great Gallery.
The palace has some pretty amazing history, and if you listen to the audio tour you will hear all about it! James IV was a frequent visitor to the palace. He was the one who decided to turn the royal lodgings in Holyrood Abbey into a palace. He wanted to make it be a nice home for his new bride–Margaret Tudor. Margaret and James’ wedding was in the abbey church in August 1503.
The palace has been renovated many times, including once in 1633 for the coronation of Charles I. But the oldest part of the palace that still survives today is James V’s tower. Construction for the tower was started in 1528.
The Palace also has some dark history. Mary Queen of Scots lived here, and she had an Italian secretary named David Rizzio. Mary’s husband, Lord Darnley, thought that Mary was in love with David, and then, on March 9 1566, Lord Darnley stabbed David Rizzio 56 times and left him to die–and did this in front of Mary Queen of Scots, who was then expecting their first and only son–King James. She was terrified, and fled.
Have you ever visited Holyrood Palace?
Bibliography:
The Palace of Holyroodhouse–The Official Souvenir Guide by the Royal Collection Trust
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