World Exclusive - A Royal Palace Fit For A Queen

Mrs S and I along with some other members of Historic Scotland had the extraordinary pleasure of a sneak preview this evening of the Royal Palace at Stirling Castle in Scotland. I think this group were the first people to see the absolutely stunning finished refurbishment of the Royal Palace. This is the most magnificent and proud addition to Scotland's and Stirling's cultural heritage. It is a truly fantastic recreation of how the Royal Palace might have looked c1540 at the time of King James V, his French wife Mary of Guise and of course the infant Mary Queen of Scots. The costumes of the actors who bring even more life to the Palace are just stunning, and the actors' knowledge add immensly to the whole experience. The Royal Palace is quite simply awesome.

The photograph is of a stunning tapestry in the Queen's bedchamber. The cloths, decoration, furniture, fixtures and fittings are all so beautiful and you get a real sense of 'being there' and of life at that time when, as someone from Historic Scotland put it, Scotland punched above its weight in it trade and relations with Europe. The King's bedchamber and the Queen's reception hall are no less magnificent. And the display of the unique and amazing wooden carvings of the Stirling Heads are also on display in the Royal Palace. I'd forgotton just how big the Palace building is as there is also a brilliant display and presentation area with interactive themes for childern. The ancient skeletons found during the refurbishment of the castle will also feature in the display with clever face creation techniques used to illustrate how the people would have looked. More is unfolding and to be published soon about their fate and perhaps why they were buried in the grounds of the Castle.

So...........if any other blippers were there I hope you had as good a time as we did. You'll have guessed from the above that I'll be back with more blips on this once it is formally opened on Sat 4 June - a great day for Stirling.