Palaces and great houses

In this article you can find out:

This resource is suitable for Castles topics for P2, P3, P4, P5, P6 and P7 (First and Second Level Curriculum for Excellence).

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Find out what life was like a palace and how it was different from life in a castle.

A palace is a large building where kings, queens and noble people live.
Castles are fortified which means they were built to keep the people inside safe.
Palaces are all about looking good and being comfortable. They were built to have fun in and show off how rich and stylish the owners were.

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Falkland Palace
Falkland Palace in Fife was originally built as a hunting lodge in the 1100s. It belonged to Clan MacDuff. It was rebuilt as a beautiful royal palace 400 years later.
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Palace of Holyroodhouse
Holyrood Palace has been popular with the royal family and nobles for hundreds of years. Mary, Queen of Scots lived there between 1561 and 1567 and it is the official residence of the King when he is in Scotland.
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Linlithgow Palace
In 1424, King James I ordered this pleasure palace to be built at Linlithgow in West Lothian. It was a place to stop and rest on the journey between Stirling and Edinburgh. Linlithgow Palace was the birthplace of King James V and Mary, Queen of Scots.
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Scone Palace
Scone Palace in Perth is steeped in history and dates back to the year 800 AD. It was the crowning place of Scottish kings like Macbeth, Robert the Bruce and Charles II.
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Dunfermline Palace
Dunfermline Palace is a ruin now. It sits next to the famous Dunfermline Abbey which was founded by King David I. Many Scottish Kings were buried there including King Robert the Bruce.