The palace will be decorated for the festive period
The Palace of Holyrood House is to create a new Christmas display inspired by the 12th century legend that gave the palace its name to bring its “founding story to life” for visitors.
The display, which has taken inspiration from the legend of King David I of Scotland, will include illuminated life-size models of stags, does and fawns in the Edinburgh Palace’s central Quadrangle, which will, unusually, be open to visitors to walk around.
According to legend, King David I had a vision of a stag with a glowing cross - or rood - between its antlers while hunting in a forest on the land beneath what is now known as Arthur’s Seat. It is believed that, interpreting it as a message from God, he built Holyrood Abbey – which gives the Palace its name and now sits in ruin in its grounds – on the spot where he had seen the stag.
The display is part of a major decoration of the two official Royal Palaces - Holyroodhouse and Windsor Castle - for the festive period.
Inside the palace, which has served as the principal royal residence in Scotland since the 16th century, the rooms will be dressed with festive decorations including a 15-foot-high Nordmann fir tree in the Great Gallery, the longest room in the building, which is lined with portraits of real and legendary Scottish monarchs.
Meanwhile, in the wood-panelled Throne Room, two 12-foot-high Christmas trees will be adorned with sparkling lights and twinkling ornaments alongside a garland decorating the fireplace mantel, while the Great Stair leading to the historic State Apartments will be decorated with garlands, berries and winter foliage and wreaths will adorn the windows along the enfilade of King’s Rooms, framing views of the Palace gardens against the backdrop of Arthur’s Seat and Holyrood Park.
The Royal Dining Room, first used as a dining room by Queen Victoria, will be laid with seasonal foliage and objects from the Royal Collection.
Emma Stead, curator at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, said: “The story of the founding of Holyrood Abbey and the Palace’s is a remarkable legend. According to tradition, King David I experienced a vision of a stag bearing a glowing cross between its antlers. Believing this to be a divine message from God, he established an abbey on the spot. The name Holyrood combines the words holy and rood, the Scots term for a cross, and would later give the Palace its name.
“We hope that this year’s Christmas display brings this founding story to life for visitors, inviting them to discover how a medieval legend marks the beginning of the Palace’s long history as a royal residence that continues to play an important role today.”
At Windsor Castle in London, the centrepiece of the festive displays will be a 20-foot-high Nordmann fir tree grown in the nearby Windsor Great Park.
Earlier this year, the late Queen’s apartments at the palace were opened up to the public for the first time. The apartments were available for ticketed tours for 100 days over the summer months.