Editing Linlithgow Palace (section)

==James VI==
In the years after the [[Act Anent the demission of the Crown in favour of our Sovereign Lord, and his Majesty's Coronation 1567|abdication of Mary]] and the [[Marian Civil War]], Captain Andrew Lambie and his lieutenant John Spreul kept an armed guard of 28 men of war at the Palace. An iron yett was brought to the Palace from Blackness Castle by [[Alexander Stewart (diplomat)|Alexander Stewart]] in 1571.<ref>Charles Thorpe McInnes, ''Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, 1566–1574'', vol. 12 (Edinburgh, 1970), pp. 250–1, 303.</ref> Timber was used to fortify the church steeple.<ref>John Hill Burton, ''Register of the Privy Council'', vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1878), pp. 166–7.</ref>

In March 1576 [[Regent Morton]] ordered some repairs to the roof and the kitchen chimney.<ref>''Accounts of the Treasurer'', vol. 13 (Edinburgh, 1978), p. 157.</ref> [[James VI of Scotland]] came to Linlithgow in May 1583, and his courtiers, including [[Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell]] and [[George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal]] played football.<ref>Miles Kerr-Peterson, ''A Protestant Lord in James VI's Scotland: George Keith, Fifth Earl Marischal'' (Boydell, 2019), p. 32: William Boyd, ''Calendar of State Papers Scotland: 1581–1583'', vol. 6 (Edinburgh, 1910), p. 475.</ref> James VI held a [[Parliament of Scotland|parliament]] in the great hall of the palace in December 1585, the first gathering of the whole nobility in the palace since the reign of his grandfather [[James V of Scotland]].<ref>''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 8 (Edinburgh, 1914), p. 161.</ref> James VI gave lands including the palace to his bride [[Anne of Denmark]] as a "[[morning gift]]". On 14 May 1590 [[Peder Munk]], the [[Admiral of the Realm|Admiral of Denmark]], rode to Linlithgow from [[Niddry Castle]], and was welcomed at the palace by the keeper [[Lewis Bellenden]]. He took symbolic possession or ([[sasine]]) by accepting a handful of earth and stone.<ref>David Stevenson, ''Scotland's Last Royal Wedding'' (John Donald: Edinburgh, 1997), p. 103.</ref>

The keeper of the palace in 1594 was the English courtier [[Roger Aston]] who repaired the roof using lead shipped from England.<ref>Miles Kerr-Peterson & Michael Pearce, 'James VI's English Subsidy and Danish Dowry Accounts', ''Scottish History Society Miscellany XVI'' (Woodbridge, 2020), pp. 79, 87.</ref> Roger Aston was of doubtful parentage and as a joke hung a copy of his family tree next to that of the king of France in the long gallery, which James VI found very amusing.<ref>Joseph Bain, [https://archive.org/details/borderpaperscale02grea/page/652/mode/2up ''Calendar of Border Papers'', vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1894), pp. 563]</ref> There was a private stair accessing the king's apartments, and the [[Walter Dundas|Laird of Dundas]] claimed to have encountered the Queen there in the dark without recognising her.<ref>''Letters to King James the Sixth from the Queen, Prince Henry, Prince Charles'' (Edinburgh, 1835), p. l.</ref>

In January 1595 [[John Stewart, 5th Earl of Atholl]], [[Simon Fraser, 6th Lord Lovat]], and [[Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Lord Mackenzie of Kintail|Kenneth Mackenzie]] were kept prisoners in the palace, in order to pacify "Highland matters".<ref>[[Annie Cameron]], ''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 523, 526.</ref> Lord Lovat gained the king's favour and soon after married one of Anne of Denmark's ladies in waiting, Jean Stewart, a daughter of [[James Stewart, 1st Lord Doune]].<ref>William Mackay, ''Fraser Chronicles'' (Edinburgh, 1905), pp. 223–5.</ref> Roger Aston helped the queen move to Linlithgow Palace at the end of May 1595.<ref>''Letters of John Colville'' (Edinburgh, 1858), pp. 278–9.</ref> Over several days at Linlithgow in June 1595, James VI and Anne had discussions about the keeping of their son [[Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales|Prince Henry]] by the [[John Erskine, Earl of Mar (1558–1634)|Earl of Mar]]. Anne refused to talk to Mar when he came to Linlithgow.<ref>[[Annie Cameron]], ''Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1593–1595'', vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 615–6, 626.</ref>

The daughter of James VI and Anne, [[Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia|Princess Elizabeth]], lived in the palace in the care of [[Helenor Hay, Countess of Linlithgow]], helped by [[Andrew Stuart, 1st Baron Castle Stuart|Mary Kennedy, Lady Ochiltree]].<ref>''Register of the Privy Council of Scotland'', vol 10 (Edinburgh, 1891), p. 521: [[Mary Anne Everett Green]], ''Elizabeth Queen of Bohemia'' (London, 1902), pp. 2–4.</ref> Alison Hay was her nurse, helped by her sister Elizabeth Hay.<ref>[[Nadine Akkerman]], ''Elizabeth Stuart: Queen of Hearts'' (Oxford, 2021), p. 23.</ref> John Fairny was appointed to guard her chamber door.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/letterstokingjam00mait/page/83 ''Letters to King James the Sixth from the Queen, Prince Henry, Prince Charles etc'' (Edinburgh, 1835), pp. lxxxiii, lxxxv]</ref> In 1599 James VI had to write to the Linlithgow burgh council about townspeople who had built houses which obstructed a route taken by the royal horses to water, and houses and gardens built near the loch (in recent times of drought) which hindered the royal laundry.<ref>George Waldie, ''A History of the Town and Palace of Linlithgow'' (Linlithgow, 1868), pp. 58–9.</ref>

Anne of Denmark came to visit Princess Elizabeth at Linlithgow Palace on 7 May 1603, and then rode to [[Stirling Castle]], where she argued again with [[Marie Stewart, Countess of Mar]] and the [[John Erskine, Earl of Mar (1585–1654)|Master of Mar]] over the custody of [[Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales|Prince Henry]].<ref>William Fraser, [https://archive.org/details/memorialsofearv200fras/page/210/mode/2up ''Memorials of the Earls of Haddington'', vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1889), p. 210]</ref> She brought Prince Henry to Linlithgow on 27 May, and after a week in Edinburgh, went to London.<ref>David Calderwood, ''History of the Kirk of Scotland'', vol. 6 (Edinburgh, 1845), p. 231.</ref> In 1616 [[Alexander Livingstone, 1st Earl of Linlithgow]] said there was still a [[Scottish royal tapestry collection|tapestry from the royal collection]] at Linlithgow, used in Prince Henry's chamber. The tapestry had been damaged by the fool Andrew Cockburn. The Earl had decorated Princess Elizabeth's rooms with his own tapestry.<ref>David Masson, ''Register of the Privy Council of Scotland'', vol. 10 (Edinburgh, 1891), p. 521.</ref>