Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh

Holyrood Palace, which is still a royal residence, has been the scene of so many dramatic episodes in Scotland's story, was founded by James IV in 1498. However, much of the current building is the result of a reconstruction in 1671 to the orders of Charles II. The palace had suffered serious damage by the Earl of Hertford in 1544 during his notorious sack of Edinburgh, and again in 1650 when Oliver Cromwell's troopers caused serious fire damage.

Adjacent to the palace stands the ruin of Holyrood Abbey, whose history spans some 800 years. A Monastery of the Holy Rood was founded here in 1128 by David I, in gratitude for his miraculous escape from an enraged stag while hunting in the Drumshelch Forest. This dense woodland at that time covered a very large area to the south and west of Edinburgh. The coat-of-arms of the former burgh of Canongate bears a stag's head with a holy cross between the antlers . The Canongate was more likely spelt Canons Gait, as the walk ( gait ) of the Canons from the abbey.
T he abbey came to play a great part in the religious life of a succession of Scottish monarchs.

• James II, was born there, married there and buried there. He was killed in his thirtieth year when a cannon burst near him during a siege of Roxburgh Castle in 1460.
• James III and James IV were both married in Holyrood Abbey.
• James V was crowned there (1524) and buried in the abbey (1542).
• 1565, Mary, Queen of Scots and Henry Darnley were married.
• Charles I was crowned in the abbey in 1633.

Although the Reformation caused the main damage to the abbey the new roof provided in 1758 collapsed a mere ten years later, due to bad architects design ( could history repeat itself with the new Parliament building ) leaving the venerable thirteenth-century nave was once more a ruin and open to heaven.