Dunfermline Palace facts for kids
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Dunfermline Palace is a ruined palace in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. It was once a home for Scottish kings and queens. Today, it is a popular place to visit. The palace and the nearby Dunfermline Abbey are looked after by Historic Environment Scotland. They are protected as important historic sites.
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History of Dunfermline Palace
Dunfermline was a special place for many Scottish monarchs. Royal history here began in the 11th century. King Malcolm III made Dunfermline his capital city. His home was Malcolm's Tower, a short distance from where the palace stands now. Later, David II and James I of Scotland were both born in Dunfermline.
Dunfermline Palace is connected to the old Dunfermline Abbey. It sits between the abbey and a deep valley to the south. A gatehouse and a covered passageway (called a pend or yett) link the palace to the abbey. This passageway was one of Dunfermline's old town gates. The palace building was originally the abbey's guest house.
We don't have many records about how the palace was built. We know that wood was bought for royal rooms in 1429. The parts of the palace you see today mostly show how it looked after King James IV changed it around 1500. He used the old monastic Guest House to create the palace. James IV visited often and gave money to the builders. The palace was later updated in the 1500s. William Schaw worked on it in 1590 to get it ready for Anne of Denmark.
Royal Stays at the Palace
James IV and his wife Margaret Tudor often stayed at Dunfermline Palace. In November 1504, Queen Margaret was there when people thought there might be a plague. King James IV was away in northern Scotland. The queen left for Edinburgh with her servants. This turned out to be a false alarm.
King James V (1512–1542) and his wife Mary of Guise also used the palace. In 1562, after dinner at Dunfermline, Mary, Queen of Scots, showed a special gold ring. It had a heart-shaped diamond. She said she would send it to Queen Elizabeth I with some poems she had written. At this time, the two queens were thinking about meeting each other.
Queen Anne of Denmark's Home
James VI stayed at Dunfermline Palace in June 1585 to avoid the plague in Edinburgh. He made rules about food and lodging prices for his court in Dunfermline. In 1589, the king gave the palace as a wedding gift to his new wife, Anne of Denmark. She gave birth to three of their children here. These included Elizabeth (born 1596) and Charles (born 1600). Queen Anne sometimes traveled between Edinburgh and Dunfermline by boat. She often stopped for meals at South Queensferry. She made many improvements to the palace during her time there.
Anne of Denmark was given the lands that used to belong to Dunfermline Abbey. She was known as the "Lady of Dunfermline." In 1596, Alexander Seton became her manager and the palace's keeper. The palace had many staff members. These included her jester, Tom Durie, and an English musician named John Norlie.
Queen Anne finished a new building at the palace in 1600. It was called the "Queen's House." This building was taken down in 1797. It was a tall building with a driveway (a "pend") running through its lower level. This replaced an older gateway. Near the abbey, there were houses for her estate officers. There was also a tennis court in the old abbey grounds.
Charles was born at Dunfermline in November 1600. His younger brother Robert was born there in 1602. Queen Anne had a German doctor, Martin Schöner, and a nurse named Isobel Colt. A local woman, Margaret MacBeth, was said to have given the queen herbal remedies. She also helped at the royal births. For Charles's birth, a new green velvet and taffeta bed was made for Anne.
In November 1601, Anne got a room ready for her daughter, Princess Elizabeth. But the princess stayed at Linlithgow Palace because the king ordered it. There was a steep staircase outside Anne of Denmark's bedroom. In March 1602, an English courtier fell down it and was unconscious. At this time, there was a plague scare in Edinburgh. The Privy Council wanted to keep the plague away from the queen and her children. So, ferry crossings to and from Dunfermline were stopped. Only royal advisors and healthy servants could cross.
Prince Charles's Childhood Home
After the Union of Crowns in 1603, the Scottish court moved to London. This meant that kings and queens rarely visited Dunfermline Palace. Prince Charles, who was a sickly child, stayed at Dunfermline for a year.
His guardians were Alexander Seton and his wife, Grissal Leslie. Jean Drummond looked after him. An older woman, Marion Hepburn, rocked his cradle. Prince Charles was slow to learn to walk. He was given a wooden stool with wheels to help him practice.
An English courtier, Robert Carey, visited Dunfermline. He wrote that Prince Charles was "a very weak child." But by July 1604, his doctor wrote to Queen Anne. He said Prince Charles could now walk across the "great chamber" many times a day without a stick. He was walking "like a gallant soldier all alone."
Alexander Seton and his wife took Prince Charles to England in September 1604. He stayed at Oatlands Palace. Some of his old servants from Dunfermline also went to England. They were given pensions.
In 1616, ten tapestries from the royal tapestry collection were still at Dunfermline Palace. They were left from when Prince Charles lived there as a baby. In 1618, a poet named John Taylor stayed at the palace. He described it as "a delicate and princely mansion." He also saw the "ruins of an ancient and stately built Abbey, with fair gardens, orchards, meadows."
When Anne of Denmark died in 1619, the palace and her lands in Scotland went to Prince Charles. The "new great house" built by his mother was repaired. The town of Dunfermline had a terrible fire in 1624. Prince Charles sent £500 to help the town.
Later Royal Visits and Ruin
In 1633, Lord Traquair checked Dunfermline Palace for repairs. This was before a royal visit. King Charles I returned to Scotland in 1633 for his coronation. He made only a short visit to the place where he was born.
The last king to stay at the palace was Charles II. He stayed at Dunfermline in 1650, just before the Battle of Pitreavie. Soon after, during the time when Oliver Cromwell controlled Scotland, the building was left empty. By 1708, its roof had been removed.
Today, all that is left of the palace are the kitchen, its cellars, and the large south wall. This wall offers a great view over the Firth of Forth to the south.
See also
In Spanish: Palacio de Dunfermline para niños
Images for kids
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Plaque commemorating King Charles I who was born at Dunfermline Palace in 1600
