We spent a beautiful sunny day visiting the beautiful Holyrood Palace and Gardens. Holyrood is the active palace of Edinburgh, so it’s where the Queen stays when she comes to Edinburgh. As such, no pictures were allowed inside, which is such a shame because it was soooo gorgeous in there. Imagine glitter, gold, and history all rolled into one, and you might be able to start yourself a picture of the wonder that is Holyrood.
This was a true palace, for sure, with gorgeous room set-ups, and it’s definitely a palace with some great history. This is where Mary Queen of Scots stayed most of the time she was in Edinburgh, preferring its coziness to the stony wonder that is Edinburgh Castle. We walked through Mary Queen of Scots rooms, where the infamous Rizzio murder occurred, right in front of a very pregnant Mary.
Mary’s husband at the time, Lord Darnley, had grown fumingly jealous over Mary’s relationship with her advisor David Rizzio (although it’s never been proven that they were ever any more than good friends), and so he and several of his men stormed in on Mary and her ladies, eating dinner with Rizzio. Rizzio was dragged through the rooms and brutally stabbed 56 times, his body then dumped by a window, all the while a screaming and pregnant Mary being held at gunpoint. There’s a plaque on the floor to commemorate the spot where it is believed Rizzio’s body was dumped. (Not to worry though, Darnley got his, when, later, the house he was staying in was blown up.)
Along with getting to see the rooms of Mary Queen of Scots, we also got to see a lot of her possessions and things relating to her, which was really, really cool.
Since I couldn’t take photos inside, I had to make up for it by taking a lot of the outside. You can begin to see the majesty of Holyrood as soon as you step through the gates.
After our journey through the palace, we headed outside to the grounds where we got see the ruins of Holyrood Abbey, which were most impressive.
Then it was a leisurely wander through the gardens, just starting to bloom.
We ended the day with dinner at Edinburgh’s oldest pub, The White Hart Inn, established in 1516.
violetsams 