If you approach Edinburgh by night, the Castle seems to float above the city, perched high on the rocks that made it the perfect place for a battlement. Indeed Castle Rock has been inhabited for this reason since prehistoric times, and it forms an imposing start to the Royal Mile. The earliest remaining structure of the rock was a chapel built by King David I in memory of his mother Queen Margaret, and the castle began to take its present form in 1356 when King David II decided to reinforce its defences.
Subsequent kings made their own changes and additions after various wars and battles. It was sacked for the last time in 1573when it fell to the English, along with Mary Queen of Scots. Her son, King James IV, was born in Edinburgh Castle and later reunited the crowns of Scotland and England as James VI of Scotland and I of England. Such is its effectiveness as a fortress, that Edinburgh Castle has only been captured in combat twice, each time by the Scots vanquishing an English garrison.
The ceremonial parade ground in front of the Castle where the Tattoo now takes place was begun in 1753, and when the esplanade was broadened and landscaped some sixty years later with walls and railings, it marked the end of the Castle’s era as a fortress. Housing the “Honours of Scotland”, the Crown Jewels which are the oldest royal regalia in Europe, the Castle remains the headquarters of the 52nd Infantry Brigade, is home to a number of military museums, and contains the Scottish National War Memorial.
Subsequent kings made their own changes and additions after various wars and battles. It was sacked for the last time in 1573when it fell to the English, along with Mary Queen of Scots. Her son, King James IV, was born in Edinburgh Castle and later reunited the crowns of Scotland and England as James VI of Scotland and I of England. Such is its effectiveness as a fortress, that Edinburgh Castle has only been captured in combat twice, each time by the Scots vanquishing an English garrison.
The ceremonial parade ground in front of the Castle where the Tattoo now takes place was begun in 1753, and when the esplanade was broadened and landscaped some sixty years later with walls and railings, it marked the end of the Castle’s era as a fortress. Housing the “Honours of Scotland”, the Crown Jewels which are the oldest royal regalia in Europe, the Castle remains the headquarters of the 52nd Infantry Brigade, is home to a number of military museums, and contains the Scottish National War Memorial.