Holyrood Abbey was founded in 1128 on the orders of King David I. James IV built a Gothic palace beside it between 1501 and 1505, arranged around a quadrangle. James V's Tower, added between 1528 and 1536 at the north-west corner, is the oldest surviving part of the palace.
Sir William Bruce rebuilt the palace between 1671 and 1678, keeping James V's tower, with plans drawn up with Robert Mylne, the King's Master Mason. The quadrangle has three stories plus an attic and a matching pair of towers at the north-west and south-west.
The Great Gallery, 150 feet (45 m) long, holds 96 of the original 111 portraits of Scottish monarchs, completed between 1684 and 1686. Mary, Queen of Scots occupied rooms in James V's Tower from 1561 until 1567. The palace is the monarch's official residence in Scotland, and 17 rooms are open to the public except when royal family members are in residence.
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