As Edinburgh celebrates its 900th anniversary, a new publication reveals how the Palace of Holyroodhouse – the magnificent landmark in the heart of Edinburgh – has played an integral role in the unfolding history of the monarchy, the city and Scotland itself. 

The Palace of Holyroodhouse: ‘A house of many memories’, published today (10 October) by Royal Collection Trust, is the most comprehensive history of Scotland’s royal palace produced in over 100 years. 

Drawing on new research and primary sources, and richly illustrated with historical drawings, watercolours and photographs, the book chronicles the Palace’s journey from 12th-century abbey to official Scottish residence of His Majesty The King. It offers the most reliable accounts to date of the most infamous events in the Palace’s history, including the brutal murder of Mary, Queen of Scots’ secretary and Bonnie Prince Charlie’s occupation of Holyroodhouse for the Jacobite cause. The book also reveals some of the Palace’s more surprising occupants through the centuries – from a Russian princess and a penniless French King to a menagerie of lions and tigers.

The Palace’s origins lie in the foundation of Holyrood Abbey nearly 900 years ago in 1128. In 1503 James IV converted its royal lodgings into a palace, which was expanded further by James V. Only the north-west tower from this early building survives, and the Abbey – once one of the finest medieval abbeys in Scotland – fell into ruin in the 1760s. However, a new reconstruction drawing – commissioned for the book using new research and GPS surveys – shows what James V’s lost Renaissance palace and Holyrood Abbey might have looked like for the first time.

Mary, Queen of Scots spent just six years at the Palace in the 1560s, but it was the setting for many of the important events of her reign, including two of her three marriages and the murder of her secretary, David Rizzio, stabbed more than 50 times by her jealous husband and his fellow nobles. Following a thorough reappraisal of contemporary sources, the book gives a detailed account of the murder as it unfolded in Mary’s chambers, watched in horror by the pregnant Queen. 

In 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie occupied Edinburgh and held court at the Palace for six weeks during the final Jacobite rising. The glittering balls that he is said to have held inspired writers and artists such as Sir Walter Scott and Sir John Pettie for generations to come, but were not recorded in detail by contemporary sources. However, during research for the book, a letter came to light, written by the Duke of Perth in September 1745, confirming that a ‘great ball at ye palace’ had taken place probably to celebrate the Jacobite victory. 

The book sheds light on the Palace’s role hosting foreign royalty in the 18th century. During the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette’s exiled brother-in-law, the comte d’Artois, lived at the Palace using the Abbey’s status as a debtor’s sanctuary to avoid his creditors. 

In 1822 George IV became the first reigning monarch to visit the Palace in almost 200 years. The book describes the elaborate preparations made by the visit’s organiser, Sir Walter Scott, and public interest in the Palace surged after George IV’s visit. 

The book also traces its lasting influence on writers, artists and musicians. These include Daniel Defoe, Louis Daguerre (inventor of the first photographic process) and Felix Mendelssohn, whose Scottish Symphony was inspired by a twilight visit to the Abbey. 

Queen Victoria felt a profound connection to Scotland and to Holyroodhouse, where she and Prince Albert would stay each year en-route to Balmoral Castle. The royal couple were captivated by the beauty of Holyrood Abbey, and the book reproduces sketches that they made of the ruined building from their windows, as well as watercolours of their apartments, commissioned by Queen Victoria after Prince Albert’s death to commemorate happier times.

Extensive research into the Palace gardens sheds light on their varied uses through the centuries, from medieval jousting grounds and a royal menagerie, to the foundation in 1670 of one of Britain’s earliest botanic gardens, which later became the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. The book also explores the colourful history of the nearby Abbey Strand buildings, thought to incorporate the oldest surviving house in Edinburgh and now the Palace’s Learning Centre. 

The Palace’s story is brought up to date with an exploration of its role in the 20th and 21st centuries, from its first garden party and a lucky escape from wartime bombing, to the opening of The Queen’s Gallery (now The King’s Gallery) in 2002 to show works of art from the Royal Collection, and the Palace’s continued popularity as a visitor attraction today, welcoming almost half a million people each year. The book recounts the moment the eyes of the world turned to Holyroodhouse in 2022, when Queen Elizabeth II lay at rest in the Throne Room after her death at Balmoral Castle, and describes the Royal Family’s use of the Palace today to celebrate Scots from all walks of life.