Falkland Palace is a former Scottish royal palace in Falkland, Fife.
History
The Stewarts acquired Falkland Castle from MacDuff of Fife in the 14th century. In 1402 Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany imprisoned his nephew David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, the eldest son of King Robert III of Scotland, at Falkland. The incarcerated Duke eventually died there from neglect and starvation.
Between 1501 and 1541 Kings James IV and James V of Scotland transformed the old castle into a beautiful royal palace: one of the finest Renaissance palaces in Britain. James V, already ill, died at Falkland in December 1542 after hearing that his wife had given birth to a daughter—Mary, Queen of Scots.
Falkland became a popular retreat with all the Stewart monarchs. They practised falconry there and used the vast surrounding forests for hawking and for hunting deer and wild boar.
After the Union of the Crowns, James VI and I, Charles I, and Charles II all visited Falkland. Cromwell's invading army set the palace on fire and it quickly fell into ruin. In 1887 John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute started the restoration of the palace. The Crichton-Stuarts, the Keepers of Falkland Palace, handed it over to the National Trust for Scotland in 1952.
Description
The roofed South Range contains the Chapel Royal, and the East Range the King's Bedchamber and the Queen's Room. Visitors can also view the Keeper's Apartments in the Gatehouse. In the gardens lies the original real tennis (locally called royal tennis) court, built in 1539, and the world's oldest tennis court still in use. It is home to Scotland's only real tennis club, although a court in Troon may reopen.
External link
