The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1913-08-21


son. has been set aside
in the growth Of Edin-
burgh. and stands gray
and silent in q workman's quarter and
among breweries and gas works"
The gas works have gone since Mr.
Stevenson wrote. but the breweries
remain. and otherwise the environs OF
the palace are little changed. Among
them. however. must be numbered the
magnificent royal park. the pic
turesque line of serrated rocks which
form the Salisbury craigs and the
lofty hill. crowned by its noble lions
head. which owes Its name OF Ar
thurs Seat" to its associations with
the old Arthurian legends of Edin-
burgh. OF royalty itself Holyrood has
seen but little since James vi. OF
happy memory left it to occupy the
throne of Elizabeth. The fact that
the reigning British sovereigns are to
reside in the palace AZ we'll as to hold
state functions there has greatly In
creased the enthusiasm of their visit
to Edinburgh.
The rarity of royal residence adds to
the Importance of its occurrence. King
George will be the first reigning king.
the second reigning sovereign to oc-
cupy the palace since the time Of
Charles l.. while Queen Mary will be
the first queen consort to reside there
since Anne of Denmark. James Wills
q
Charles l. was crowned in the chapel
royal at Holyrood, and In 16A1 he
spent about three months in the pal
ace-not very happily From that time
till George Nv. visited Edinburgh in
1922 NO British monarch crossed its
threshold. And George Nv. while
holding various state ceremonies in
Holyrood resided in Dalkeith house.
Queen Victoria and the prince con-
sort also lived at .Dalkeith on the oc-
casion Of their first visit to Edinburgh.
in 1s42 In the autumn of 1850. how
ever, her majesty and Prince Albert
resided for couple Of days In Holy
rood, and subsequently the queen
when going to or returning from Bal
moral several times broke her Jour-
ney at Edinburgh and spent night in
the palace. In April. 1908, King Ed
ward held court at Holyrood. but his
majesty and Queen Alexandra resided
at Dalkeith house.
1t is fondly hoped that the coming
visit Of their majesties to the ancient
palace Of the Stuarts may be the pre-
cursor Of many to follow and that the
dimmed brilliance Of Holyrood may be
restored and its past slories In some
part at least revived.
Although not the Oldest Of the Scot
tish royal palaces. that Of Holyrood
house is in many respects the most
interesting. 1t appeals to the imagina-
ton as none other does. It has been
the scene of some Of the most splen-
did, the most romantic and the most
tragic Incidents in Scottish history
of coronations. royal marriages. festiv-
tiles, court revels. plots. conspiracies.
feuds, intrigues. murders. Moreover.
while Linlithgow and Falkland palaces
are of earlier date, for nearly four and
a half centuries before the erection Of
. royal palace at Holyrood the mag
nificent abbey which stood there was
closely associated with the Scottish
sovereigns. Founded in 1928 by David
l., this religious house was frequently
used as a royal residence; parlia-
ments met within its walls and In Its
church kings were crowned. welded
and buried.
The Residence Of Scottish Monarehs.
The erection Of royal palace was
begun about 1901 by James w.. and
from this time onward its was the
chief residence of the Scottish mon
archs. It Is noteworthy that one Of
the first events connected with 1t was
the marriage of James to the Princess
Margaret. daughter Of Henry VII. Of
England-from which marriage came
the union of the crowns. James V. ex-
tended the palace and 1t has associa.
tions Of a peculiarly close and inter
esting character with his unfortunate
daughter. Mary.
Here the lovely queen Of Scots en-
toyed brief period Of happiness after
her return from France; here she read
with George Buchanan. played chess
with her favorites. danced with Ches-
terfeld, listened to the music Of Rizzio
and held stormy interviews with John
Knox. Here she welded Darnley;
here Rizzio was slain, and here she
celebrated her nuptials with the ruff
fanly Rothwell. James VI lived chief
" at Holyrood before his accession to
the throne Of England. and It was here
Sir Robert Carey brought him tidings
of the death of Queen Elizabeth He
visited the palace only once after