\paperw3360 \margr0\margl0\ATXph16380 \plain \fs20 \ri45 \f1 \fs22 The original Holyrood edifice was an abbey founded under royal patronage during the 12th century. Since hospit
ality was always an important part of the charitable role of any religious community, successive generations of the Scottish monarchy are likely to have stayed within the abbey quite frequently, especially in view of the fact the Holyrood lay within easy
reach of both their castle at Edinburgh and their favourite hunting grounds. As one of the largest buildings in the vicinity of Edinburgh, it also provided an occasional meeting place for the councils of the realm. The abbey became an especially favou
red royal residence from the early 15th century. To accommodate the growing needs of the royal household, the abbeyÆs main guest houses must have had to be enlarged on a number of occasions. The first stages of the process leading to the great quadrang
ular palace we see today date back to the early 16th century, when James IV of Scotland, the king who was later to lose his life invading England, wished to provide a residence of fitting splendour for himself and his English queen, Margaret Tudor. A fe
w decades later \b \cf4 \ATXht13121000 Mary Queen of Scots\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 was also to have close associations with the palace.\par
