Linlithgow Palace: Birthplace of a Queen, Burnt by an Army

Each major claim carries one of three labels. established means supported by primary records, official bodies or several independent reliable sources. shared means the core fact is sound but sources disagree on details, dates or interpretation. traditional means widely repeated but not traceable to a primary or independent source.

The building history comes from royal accounts and the official records of Historic Environment Scotland. Several popular stories, such as the fountain running with wine at royal celebrations and Queen Margaret watching for James IV from the "Queen's Bower" before Flodden, come from later tradition. The account of Mary's birth and infancy follows the historian John Guy's biography of Mary, "My Heart is My Own" (2004), which draws on the English ambassador's reports and other state papers.

A palace for the Stewarts

established Linlithgow was a royal centre long before the palace. A manor house stood there in the twelfth century, and during the Wars of Independence Edward I of England fortified the site. In 1424 a great fire destroyed the town and the royal manor. The following year James I, newly returned from eighteen years of captivity in England, began a new residence on the site, designed not as a castle but as a palace for pleasure and display, close to the hunting grounds and loch.

established Over the next century the Stewart kings turned it into a palace of four ranges around a square courtyard. James IV did much of the work between 1488 and 1513, completing the west range, and gave the palace to his English queen, Margaret Tudor. Their son, James V, was born there in 1512.

James V and the fountain

established James V, who had seen the palaces of France, remodelled Linlithgow in the 1530s. Between 1534 and 1541 he moved the main entrance from the east to the south, building a new outer gateway decorated with the insignia of the orders of chivalry he belonged to. Around 1538 he set up an elaborate fountain in the centre of the courtyard, three tiers high and carved with figures, the oldest surviving fountain of its kind in Britain. It was later copied for the forecourt of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and was restored in 2005.

traditional The fountain is often said to have flowed with wine at the celebrations of royal visits. The story is told of Bonnie Prince Charlie's visit in 1745 as well, but it is tradition rather than documented fact.

The birth of a queen

established On 8 December 1542 Mary, Queen of Scots, was born at Linlithgow to James V and Mary of Guise. Six days later her father died at Falkland, and the infant became queen. She was taken to Stirling Castle for safety the following year.

established The historian John Guy, in his biography of Mary (2004), fills in the scene. The palace had recently been remodelled, with glazed windows, painted ceilings and tapestries, and Mary of Guise, who helped to redesign it, compared it to the châteaux of the Loire. The baby was carried by her nurse, Janet Sinclair, from the palace to St Michael's Church to be baptised. A report reached Henry VIII that she was too weak to live. His ambassador, Sir Ralph Sadler, came to Linlithgow in March 1543 to see for himself; her mother had the nurse unwrap her so he could inspect her, and he reported that she was "as goodly a child as I have seen of her age". shared Guy places the queen's lying-in suite on the third floor of the north-west tower; the exact room is not documented beyond doubt.

established Linlithgow was a pleasure palace, not a fortress. In July 1543 Mary of Guise, fearing that the governor, the Earl of Arran, would hand her daughter to the English, gathered the pro-French lords there. They signed a bond at Linlithgow on 24 July, and on 27 July mother and daughter left for Stirling Castle with an escort of 2,500 horse and 1,000 foot. Mary was crowned at Stirling that September.

established Mary came back as an adult. She stayed two days at Linlithgow on her first progress in September 1561. On 23 April 1567, after her last meeting with her infant son at Stirling, she spent the night here; the next morning the Earl of Bothwell intercepted her at Almond Bridge and took her to Dunbar. Her enemies later produced a supposed letter from her "out of Linlithgow" to prove the abduction was staged, one of the disputed Casket Letters. Guy argues these were tampered with; other historians, including Jenny Wormald, accept more of them as genuine (shared). Less than three years later, on 23 January 1570, her half-brother the Regent Moray was shot as he rode through the town.

traditional The small chamber at the top of the north-west stair tower is known as Queen Margaret's Bower, where Margaret Tudor is said to have waited in vain for news of James IV before Flodden in 1513. The story is romantic and unproven.

Neglect, rebuilding and decline

established After James VI inherited the English throne in 1603 and moved to London, the palace was rarely used. In 1607 the roof of the north range collapsed. James VI had it rebuilt in fashionable Renaissance style between 1618 and 1624, under the master mason William Wallace, though he visited only once more. Charles I stayed in 1633, the last reigning monarch to do so. The Scottish Parliament met at Linlithgow several times, last in 1646, and Cromwell's troops occupied the palace from 1650 to 1659.

Fire, 1746

established In January 1746, during the last Jacobite Rising, government troops of the Duke of Cumberland's army were quartered in the palace. When they left, fires they had left burning got out of control, and the palace was gutted. Whether the fire was accidental or deliberate is debated, though most accounts treat it as carelessness. The palace was never re-roofed.

Today

established Linlithgow Palace has been in state care since 1874 and is managed by Historic Environment Scotland. Its roofless halls, spiral stairs and great hall, with its triple fireplace, still give a vivid sense of royal life. St Michael's Parish Church, where Stewart monarchs worshipped, stands beside it, its modern aluminium crown spire a famous landmark.

• James V and Mary, Queen of Scots, were both born at Linlithgow.
• Mary became queen when she was six days old.
• Henry VIII's ambassador had the baby queen unwrapped in front of him at Linlithgow to check rumours that she was too sickly to live.
• Mary was baptised in St Michael's Church, next to the palace.
• The Regent Moray, Mary's half-brother, was assassinated in Linlithgow's main street in 1570.
• The courtyard fountain is the oldest surviving fountain of its kind in Britain.
• The fountain was copied for Holyroodhouse.
• Charles I was the last reigning monarch to stay in the palace, in 1633.
• The palace burned in 1746 while government soldiers were quartered there.

• Myth: The courtyard fountain ran with wine at royal celebrations. The story is told of royal visits, and of Bonnie Prince Charlie's in 1745, but it is tradition rather than documented fact.
• Myth: Margaret Tudor waited in the "Queen Margaret's Bower" for news of James IV before Flodden. The story is romantic and unproven.
• Myth: Bonnie Prince Charlie's army burned the palace. It was gutted in January 1746 while government troops were quartered there. Whether the fire was accidental or deliberate is debated, though most accounts treat it as carelessness.
• Myth: Linlithgow is a castle. It was designed as a palace for pleasure and display, not as a fortress. This is why Mary of Guise moved her daughter to Stirling Castle in 1543.
• Disputed: Which room was Mary's birth chamber. John Guy places the queen's lying-in suite on the third floor of the north-west tower, but the exact room is not documented beyond doubt.
• Disputed: The "out of Linlithgow" letter among the Casket Letters. John Guy argues these letters were tampered with, while other historians, including Jenny Wormald, accept more of them as genuine.