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An abbey of the Holy Rood
According to medieval legend, David I of Scotland founded Holyrood Abbey in 1128 after a vision of a stag. Its choir and transepts were pulled down in 1570, and the ruined nave still stands beside the palace.


Mary, Queen of Scots
James IV built a palace beside the abbey between 1501 and 1505, and James V added the tower from 1528; it is the oldest part that survives. Mary, Queen of Scots lived in its royal apartments from 1561 until 1567, and her secretary David Rizzio was killed there on 9 March 1566.
A palace for Charles II
Charles II had the palace rebuilt from 1671 to plans by Sir William Bruce and the master mason Robert Mylne. Its Great Gallery holds 96 portraits of Scottish monarchs painted by Jacob de Wet in the 1680s, and today the palace is the monarch’s official residence in Scotland.


