Palace of Holyroodhouse
“I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe.”
Archipeligø Bakery produces the most exquisite sourdough bread we have ever eaten. Because they are closed on the weekend and sourdough takes time to ferment, they do not sell sourdough on Mondays. In its place, on Mondays only, you can enjoy their soda bread. I headed out early to purchase a loaf of their soda bread before our tour of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, to see if it lives up to the high standard set by the sourdough.
Amanda finished reading Shadow of Night (from the A Discovery of Witches series) and I finished The Distant Hours. Since I’m currently reading 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith, on the way to the bakery I thought it would be fun to deposit our finished books in the Little Free Library outside 43 Scotland Street (the highest address on the street in actuality).
Hope you find good homes!
Walking from the bus stop (a little further than hoped) to the Palace. The weather underwent a marked change with the high temperature on Monday soaring from where it has hovered for weeks at or below freezing to a balmy 55° F. It won’t last long, but it made for a very pleasant day on Monday.
A spectacular morning to walk through Holyrood Park with Salisbury Crags rising to the right.
Audio tour headphone in place, ready to begin our tour at the courtyard fountain. King James V, who was born in the palace, added an ornate fountain to the courtyard. This fountain is a 19th century replica, commissioned by Queen Victoria. Among the carvings of lions and soldiers are historic figures in Scotland’s history. The abbey ruins (mentioned below) are beside the palace at the left side of this photo.
Holyroodhouse is the official Scottish residence for the British monarch. It’s located at the bottom of the Royal Mile, opposite Edinburgh Castle, and has served as the principal royal residence in Scotland since the 16th century. It is still used for state occasions and official entertaining.
As mentioned, long before the palace was built, Holyrood was an Augustinian abbey founded by King David I in 1128. What’s left of the abbey ruins stands at the corner of the palace as shown above. (You can orient yourself using the fountain from the previous photos and thank you Apple Maps for the cool 3D perspective).
The original Holyrood Abbey was altered and expanded over the centuries, and by 1500 this was one of the largest and most impressive monasteries in Scotland. (You may recall that the lower part of the Royal Mile is named Canongate, after the Augustinian canons who called this abbey home.) The nave is the only surviving part of the once much larger abbey complex. The abbey church was used for many important royal ceremonies, including the coronations of James V and Charles l.
Hints of opulence survive in the intricate architecture of the nave. We can only imagine the brightly painted walls and ceilings, jewel-like stained glass, and sacred images illuminated by candlelight—as envisioned in the image above.
The abbey must have been simply stunning and you wish it had not been lost to time. Felix Mendelssohn, was inspired to write Symphony No.3, Op.56, about the abbey.
This is probably a good place to explain the name Holyrood. The first kings of Scotland lived at Edinburgh Castle and enjoyed hunting in the area beneath what is now known as Arthur's Seat. Legend has it that when King David I was out hunting, he had a vision of a stag with a glowing cross (or rood) between its antlers. Interpreting this as a message from God, in 1128 he had an Augustinian abbey built on the spot where he had seen the stag and dedicated it to the Holy Rood. You’ll see the “holy rood” in many places throughout the grounds (above and below).
Others say that the name derives from a supposed fragment of the True Cross which had been brought to Scotland by David's mother, St Margaret.
You may recall the stained glass window from inside St Giles Cathedral, depicting David's mother St Margaret, St Giles, and King David I.
What a day!
The palace entrance.
As mentioned in our A Red, Red Rose post on December 9, the unicorn is the enduring symbol of Scotland. Scots love unicorns because they are proud, untameable creatures, fiercely independent and famously difficult to capture or conquer. I failed to mention in that post that you will always see their unicorns with a gold chain around their body. The chain represents the king’s ability to control these wild creatures. Based on the image above, the kings were also keen for others to know just how male the unicorns are (and one must suppose, by extension, how virile the king was).
The inscription Nemo me impune lacesset (No one provokes me with impunity) was the Latin motto of the Royal Stuart dynasty of Scotland from at least the reign of James VI when it appeared on the reverse side of merk coins minted in 1578 and 1580. It is the adopted motto of the Order of the Thistle and of three Scottish regiments of the British Army.
The Palace’s inner courtyard was designed to mimic the original abbey’s cloister. The columns are Doric at the ground level, Ionic around the second floor, and Corinthian around the third floor.
You weren’t supposed to take photographs inside, so I quickly snapped this shot of Amanda ascending the impressive stone staircase built for Charles II. (If you follow this link you can see more photos from inside.) This is still the way guests arrive at the palace, greeted by spectacular ceiling plasterwork—where a life-size angel holds the Scottish crown—as well as amazing Tapestries on the walls, which were sent to the Palace by Prince Albert.
Another magnificent reception room. (Yeah, I know, I’m a bad boy.)
The final part of the tour was our absolute favorite and to understand why you need to know a brief bit about the tragic life of Mary Queen of Scots.
Despite becoming Queen of Scotland when she was six days old, Mary Queen of Scots grew up at the French court, with the French royal children, and she married Francis De Valois II, King of France, in April 1558 in an extravagant ceremony. Francis inherited the French throne in 1559 when he and Mary were aged 15 and 16 respectively. However, Francis was not strong and he died in December 1560 after only 17 months on the throne.
Mary left France and returned to her native yet unfamiliar Scotland to rule alone.
There Mary married her second husband, her cousin Henry Stuart, Duke of Albany (known as Lord Darnley) on July 29, 1565. Darnley was thought to be a perfect match for Mary because of his connection to the English throne, which would support her claim to the English succession, and because he was not a foreign prince—theoretically ensuring his allegiance to Scotland and Mary.
The marriage was a disaster. Darnley was arrogant, immature, and irresponsible. His constant demands to be crowned king of Scotland in his own right alienated both his wife and the Scottish nobles. His behavior worsened after the birth of their son, the future King James VI of Scotland and I of England (the namesake of the King James Bible).
David Rizzio was Mary’s private secretary. Darnley was jealous of their friendship and joined in a conspiracy of Protestant nobels to murder Rizzio—spreading as pretext rumors that Rizzio had impregnated Mary.
The story of that night starts in a little turret room at the side of Mary’s bedchamber. This was known as the Supper Room, a private part of the Palace where Mary spent time relaxing with her closest friends. Around 8 pm on March 9, 1566, a heavily pregnant Mary was having dinner with Rizzio and some of her courtiers. Using their secret staircase, Darnley calmly entered the room as a ruse, but shortly thereafter, a large group of men stormed into the room behind him.
This is Lord Darnley’s bed. He slept on the second floor, below Queen Mary’s bedchamber. There is a small, private spiral stairwell connecting their rooms (just beyond the left edge of the above photo).
There is a main entrance into Queen Mary’s room of course, but this is the private and relatively secret back entrance, up this narrow spiral stairwell from Darnley’s bedroom. Darnley and his men used this secret entrance to sneak into Mary’s room unnoticed.
The men accused Rizzio of plotting against the queen and ordered him to come with them. Mary tried to protect Rizzio, but a gun was held to the young queen’s head and Rizzio was dragged away from the queen, out of her bedchamber, and into her ante-chamber where the mob viciously stabbed Rizzio to death. So much for Darnley’s allegiance to Scotland and Mary!
This is Mary’s room. The room’s main entrance is to the right. I didn’t snap my unauthorized photo super well, so you can only catch the smallest glimpse of the secret staircase at the photo’s left edge. The small sitting room was just left of the staircase.
Here is an inter-webs photo showing Mary’s bed and the small turret Supper Room behind the tapestry.
This is where Rizzo’s body was found in the queen’s ante-chamber.
Having read and watched movies of the treacherous moment of ultimate betrayal, it was surreal to walk up the very stairwell used by Darnley and his men. Being so narrow and confined, it’s a bit surprising they allow visitors to use the entrance, but we were so thrilled they did! To arrive into the room as Darnley and his men did, to look right and see the tiny room where the mob seized Rizzio, and to walk out of the bedchamber into the ante-chamber and see where his body was found—was deeply powerful. It was the highlight of the tour and something we will never forget. The Palace of Holyroodhouse is a top contender for must-see places to visit if you make it to Edinburgh.
On February 10, 1567, Darnley and his men were found murdered at Kirk o’Field in Edinburgh. Little is known about their deaths and it is one of the great historical mysteries, but Darnley did get his in the end.
Shortly after Darnley’s murder, James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell and Duke of Orkney, one of Mary’s closest and most trusted noblemen, abducted Mary and forced her to marry him. It was widely believed that Bothwell was responsible for Darnley’s death.
There was soon rebellion in Scotland and Mary was forced to abdicate. She fled to England hoping her cousin, Elizabeth I, would protect her (remember from our A Castle & A Chapel post that Mary stayed briefly at Craigmillar Castle). However, Elizabeth was suspicious because Mary also had a claim to the English throne, so she had Mary imprisoned. Mary was executed 19 years later, aged 44.
Although Mary’s rein was never restored, her son King James VI would go on to perpetuate the English monarchy—a small success in an otherwise deeply tragic life.
A bus transfer meant time for the obligatory visit to see Greyfriars Bobby.
With just enough light left in the day, I decided to summit Arthur’s Seat one more time before we leave the city. Perhaps the following video can best capture the conditions at the summit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3EVFVJ1FeI
