[72] James V's widow, Mary of Guise, acted as regent from 1554 until her death at the castle in 1560. Not long after, in early 1689, the Estates of Scotland, after convening to accept William formally as their new king, demanded that Duke of Gordon, Governor of the Castle, surrender the fortress. Work began in 1858, but was soon abandoned, and only the hospital building was eventually remodelled in 1897. In 1565, the Queen made an unpopular marriage with Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and the following year, in a small room of the Palace at Edinburgh Castle, she gave birth to their son James, who would later be King of both Scotland and England. Edinburgh Castle was home to kings and queens for many centuries. The stained-glass windows are by Douglas Strachan. [129], South of the Governor's House are the New Barracks, completed in 1799 to house 600 soldiers, and replacing the outdated accommodation in the Great Hall.
This use ceased in 1814[105] and the castle began gradually to assume a different role as a national monument.
To promote the settlement and plantation of the new territory, the Baronetage of Nova Scotia was created in 1624. He escaped by getting his guards drunk, then lowering himself from a window on a rope. [99][100] The Jacobites themselves had no heavy guns with which to respond, and by November they had marched into England, leaving Edinburgh to the castle garrison. It complemented the 'Time Ball', which was installed on the Nelson Monument in 1852, but was useless as a visual signal in foggy weather.
Robert Borthwick and a Frenchman, Antoine d'Arces, were involved in designing new artillery defences and fortifications in 1514, though it appears from lack of evidence that little of the planned work was carried out.
[6] As the backdrop to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo during the annual Edinburgh Festival, the castle has become a recognisable symbol of Edinburgh and Scotland. [67] Three years later, King James V (r.1513–1542), still only five years old, was brought to the castle for safety.
[113] The Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, a World Heritage Site inscribed by UNESCO in 1995, is described as "dominated by a medieval fortress". The longest-serving District Gunner, Staff Sergeant Thomas McKay MBE, nicknamed "Tam the Gun", fired the One O'Clock Gun from 1979 until his retirement in January 2005. The ladder they brought to scale the ramparts turned out to be too short. [55], In 1479, Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany, was imprisoned in David's Tower for plotting against his brother, King James III (r.1460–1488). [55] Following the death of Prince Albert in 1861, the architect David Bryce put forward a proposal for a 50-metre (160 ft) keep as a memorial, but Queen Victoria objected and the scheme was not pursued. Edinburgh Castle was besieged repeatedly during the 17th and early 18th centuries. It was then restored by Hippolyte Blanc in line with contemporary ideas of medieval architecture. John Barbour's narrative poem The Brus relates how a party of thirty hand-picked men were guided by one William Francis, a member of the garrison who knew of a route along the north face of the Castle Rock and a place where the wall might be scaled. [110] The position of Governor of Edinburgh Castle, vacant since 1876, was revived in 1935 as an honorary title for the General Officer Commanding in Scotland, the first holder being Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Cameron of Lochiel. Beside the museum is Butts Battery, named after the archery butts (targets) formerly placed here.
Omissions?
[120], The Portcullis Gate was begun by the Regent Morton after the Lang Siege of 1571–73 to replace the round Constable's Tower, which was destroyed in the siege. [10], Archaeological investigation has yet to establish when the Castle Rock was first used as a place of human habitation.