Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 13 on 25/3/2004.

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Mary's Royal Progress

Mary Queen of Scots got around a bit, so John Hannavy decided to take another look at sme of her residences

In the second feature in this series (in Issue 10 of Scotland Magazine), we looked at some of the Scottish castles associated with Mary Queen of Scots, and as there are so many of them, visiting a second selection seems appropriate.

We start at the spectacular Castle Campbell, perched high on the hills above Dollar. Here, in January 1563, Mary attended the wedding of the Earl of Argyll’s daughter to James Stewart, the Lord of Doune.

She stayed in the castle for three nights, but the turbulence of Scottish life at the time meant that within a couple of years – after Mary married Lord Darnley – the Earl and the Queen found themselves on opposite sides of the political divide.

The central tower house of the castle was built in the 15th century and its austere design and isolated position earned it the nickname of ‘Castle Gloom.’

The celebrations of the wedding, however, reportedly brought much colour and glamour to the place, with masked balls – a riot of colour and music.

Three months later, the Queen made one of her earliest visits to Loch Leven Castle – she had probably first visited in 1562 – but by 1567, shortly after her marriage to the Earl of Bothwell, and the subsequent defeat of her armies at Carberry Hill, Mary was back in the island castle, but this time as a prisoner.

During the year she spent in the bleak fortress, she miscarried Bothwell’s child and suffered ill-health, before escaping in May 1568, eventually making her way to England and into the hands of h.....

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By John Hannavy

Section : Scottish Castles

Page number : 18