The front of the Palace of Holyroodhouse
In general, I haven't been too impressed with royal residences. Yes, they are beautifully decorated, and they have art treasures that most museums in the world would kill for. But, all of them have a really weird quality to them. I felt it at Sandringham in 1995 and at the State Apartments of Windsor Castle in 1997. And that same quality existed at Holyroodhouse. The quality comes from the artifacts that are still in the rooms. Much (if not all) of the furnishings are rather old. In fact, I don't remember a thing in any room being more recent than the 1920's. It's understandable that these rooms would want to be kept in a form of historical preservation. But, one has to remember that they are still being used by the current batch of royals. In fact, I made a point of asking one of the guides at Holyroodhouse if the Queen had ever sat in any of the chairs in this particular room. The guide assured me that the Queen had held a formal reception in that room just a few months earlier. And those guests did use the old furniture. So, for me, the fact that these people use historical items in part of their everyday lives gives me the impression that they are trapped in the past. I'm sure their private rooms are very modern. Still, I don't believe that one can be surrounded with that much old stuff and not be stiffled by it. Perhaps that explains that sense of being "out of touch" that many people feel with regards to the Royal Family.
With those feelings in mind, we went to Holyroodhouse Palace. It cost £5.30 to enter. There aren't any student discounts. Overall, the palace was generally what I expected. Two rooms in particular stand out. The first is the Great Gallery. In here were pictures of every Scottish monarch from Fergus I to Charles II. It's a nice, quick lesson on Scottish royalty. The other room was Mary, Queen of Scots' Bedroom. This was the room where the famous Rizzio murder took place. It's rather eerie to know that you're walking in the same area in which history took place. Other than those two rooms, the palace is pretty boring.
While the palace is boring, the grounds are a site to see. They contain the usual fantastic gardens found in Great Britain. They also house a ruined abbey. I have to say that the grounds were much more interesting than the palace.
Overall, Holyroodhouse Palace is a lot like Edinburgh Castle: it's much
more impressive from the outside than from the inside. But, like Edinburgh
Castle, a first-time visitor should stop there in order to get a glimpse
of history. But, don't expect to learn much about the lives of the royals
or the history of the city from a visit.
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