Royal followers will be very familiar with Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands and the significance of the property for the royal family, but did you know King Charles III’s official Scottish residence is elsewhere? In Edinburgh, at the end of the Royal Mile lies the Palace of Holyroodhouse. While it is not often pictured, we have had glimpses inside – take a look around…
The history of the Palace of Holyroodhouse
The palace started out life as a 12th-century abbey, the ruins of which remain today, but the estate has been home to the palace since 1501. After a fire, the palace needed to be rebuilt in the 17th century by the architect Sir William Bruce.
Holyrood Week
The official royal website explains what Holyrood Week, or ‘Royal Week’ as it is sometimes known, is: ” Each year, the Monarch spends a week visiting various regions in Scotland, meeting Scots from all walks of life and hosting thousands at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in recognition of their good work. Known in Scotland as ‘Royal Week’, and to others as ‘Holyrood Week’, these visits celebrate Scottish culture, achievement and community. Holyrood week normally takes place from the end of June to the beginning of July.”
© Getty
The colour-pop sofa is a bold statement
Reception room
Princess Kate met with Hold Still winner Mila Sneddon, five, inside the Palace in May 2021, when the pair wore matching pink dresses. It revealed that one of the reception rooms features a bold orange sofa with yellow cushions.
© Photo: Getty Images
The patterned rug is a statement too
In 2017, Justin Trudeau travelled to the Palace of Holyroodhouse for a private audience with the late Queen. This photo revealed a wider look at the same reception room, with wood-panelled walls, an enormous baroque patterned rug and two bold orange sofas with fringed bottoms. They were dressed with orange and yellow cushions and positioned next to a circular wooden side table each.
The regal chairs are just like thrones
Another reception room
When the late Queen Elizabeth II met Scotland’s former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the pair were photographed in one of the home’s reception rooms. It was decorated with red baroque carpet and had wooden walls with a large fireplace. There were two chairs with wooden frames, curved cabriole legs and red velvet upholstery. Behind the Queen, there was another chair of the same shape, gilt in gold.
This room also has orange sofas
Third reception room
The Queen was photographed with Scotland’s then First Minister Alex Salmond in another reception room in 2007. It featured cream carpets and light yellow walls with white wainscoting, and was furnished with burnt orange sofas, green cushions and wooden side tables and display units.
The Sussexes have visited too
Grand corridor
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attended a Scottish event at the home in 2018. The couple were photographed in the corridors of the property, which had wooden floors and walls, and a combination of red and green velvet curtains with rope tie-backs at different windows. Once inside, the couple went on to host an event for the youths of Scotland. They did so in a room with bold red floral carpets, and lime green walls with high ceilings and various paintings hanging in gold frames.
Huge artworks hang on the walls
The Great Stair
As the late Queen and Prince Philip walked to the Morning Drawing Room with Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, photos revealed the Great Stair, which had 16th-century tapestries hanging on the walls. There were also blue carpets and cream walls.
© Royal Collection Trust
This room is very impressive
The Privy Chamber
In an Instagram post by the Royal Collection Trust, the palace’s “most elaborate” room was showcased, and that’s the privy chamber. The space featured a striking carved ceiling, wood panelled walls, a marble fireplace and a mesmerisingly patterned carpet. It’s also home to a painting which was once considered “unsuitable” by Queen Victoria.
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© Instagram
The halls get decked in November
Christmas decorations
At Christmas time, the Palace of Holyroodhouse installs a ten-foot-tall tree in the Great Gallery. Seeing the place decked out for Christmas doesn’t cost any extra, so just book your visit as normal over the festive season.
© Photo: Getty Images
The setting was ideal for Zara’s wedding snaps
Holyrood Abbey
Following their wedding at Canongate Kirk, newlyweds Zara and Mike Tindall were pictured in the ruins of Holyrood Abbey. The 12th-century abbey was once one of the grandest medieval abbeys in Scotland, with Gothic windows and a vaulted ceiling, but it has been ruined since the 18th century.