A must-see: on Crown Square the Royal Palace front ranges great three-storey oriel windows above an armorial doorway. Here, in a tiny chamber, Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to the future James VI on 19 June 1566 — a date still carved on the walls, among the Royal Arms of Scotland and the crowned monograms IR (Iacobus Rex) and MR (Maria Regina). Almost everything above ground level was rebuilt for James VI's triumphant return in 1617: master mason William Wallace led the work, probably to designs by James Murray, Master of Works, while John Anderson repainted "the room where His Majesty was born." Carving and crowns say one thing here: the dynastic legitimacy of the Stuarts, now kings of Scotland AND England.
Did you know?
The little birth-closet of 1566 was redecorated specifically for the 1617 visit, fifty-one years on: James VI, king of two realms, came back to see the room where it all began — turned into a dynastic reliquary.
Info
- Programme combining the natal decor of 1566 and the façade rebuild of 1615-1617.
- The Palace also holds the Honours of Scotland (crown jewels) and the Stone of Destiny — outside the sculpture remit.
- The sculpture / decorative dimension of Edinburgh Castle (see the linked monument entry).