Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Honours of Scotland
The
Royal Palace
, built during the 15th and 16th centuries, houses a series of historical
tableaux leading to the highlight of the castle - a strongroom housing the
Honours of
Scotland
(the Scottish Crown Jewels), the oldest surviving Crown Jewels in Europe.
Locked away in a chest following the Act of Union in 1707, the crown (made in 1540
from the gold of Robert the Bruce's 14th-century coronet), sword and sceptre lay forgot-
ten until they were unearthed at the instigation of the novelist Sir Walter Scott in 1818.
Also on display here is the
Stone of Destiny
.
Among the neighbouring
Royal Apartments
is the bedchamber where Mary, Queen of
Scots gave birth to her son James VI, who was to unite the crowns of Scotland and Eng-
land in 1603.
