{"id":5707,"date":"2017-01-24T09:00:03","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T14:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=5707"},"modified":"2017-03-28T21:17:47","modified_gmt":"2017-03-29T01:17:47","slug":"palace-of-holyroodhouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=5707","title":{"rendered":"Palace of Holyroodhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2017 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

The Royal Mile, in Edinburgh, is approimately one Scots mile long and runs through the heart of Old Town. \u00a0On the highest end of the Royal Mile is Edinburgh Castle. \u00a0At the lowest, the Palace of Holyroodhouse.<\/p>\n

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The Palace of Holyroodhouse has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of Scotland since the 16th century. \u00a0The palace is the setting for state occasions, official entertaining and is home to the Queen\u00a0during Holyrood week, which takes place at the end of June to the beginning of July.<\/p>\n

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After our dash to purchase our tickets before closing time, our visit began in the Palace forecourt. \u00a0We stopped to catch our breath and admire the palace which\u00a0was colorfully\u00a0lit and ornamented for the Christmas holidays.<\/p>\n

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Entering the Palace, I snapped some beautiful pictures of the courtyard before noticing the signs (much to my dismay) informing us that photography was not allowed!<\/p>\n

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Nevertheless, we began by climbing the Great Stair which features a 17th century Baroque ceiling features plaster angels holding the Honours of Scotland. \u00a0The bannisters were decorated with beautiful garlands and we realized that we were lucky to be here during the Christmas season.<\/p>\n

Only parts of the Palace were open to the public and we moved on from the Great Stair into the Royal Dining Room, finding that it was originally part of the Queen’s apartments.<\/p>\n

Other parts of the palace open to the public included the King’s apartments, which encompassed the presence chamber and privy chamber (now the Evening and Morning Drawing Rooms), antechamber, bedchamber and closet.<\/p>\n

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The suite of rooms on the first floor of the north-west tower incorporates an audience chamber and a bedroom. \u00a0These rooms were occupied by Lord Darnley, Queen Mary’s second husband, in the 17th century. \u00a0A second set of identical rooms on the second floor of the tower were occupied by Mary. \u00a0The outer chamber contains the oratory and was the site of the murder of David Rizzo, Mary’s secretary and confidante. \u00a0Many tourists are often convinced that they can see his blood stains on the floor here.<\/p>\n

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Noticing the waning light outside, I was anxious to find the exit and explore the\u00a0Holyrood Abbey. \u00a0The ruined abbey was founded n 1128 by King David I. \u00a0The abbey church acted as a parish church until the 17th century, however, fell into disrepair\u00a0after the 18th century. \u00a0Wishing that the lighting would have been a little better, I was still able to get some haunting pictures of the ruins. \u00a0I almost expected the naked, stripped and tortured ghost of Bald Agnes (Agnes Sampson), who was accused of witchcraft and said to roam the palace, to appear in my photographs!<\/p>\n

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It was the end of the day and although we had to vacate the premises, we considered ourselves fortunate to have been able to see an important part of Scottish history.<\/p>\n

For more pictures, check out Facebook, Snapping the Globe and Instagram, @snappingtheglobe.<\/p>\n

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Palace of Holyroodhouse<\/strong><\/p>\n