Old Photograph Abergeldie Castle Scotland.

Old photograph of Abergeldie Castle, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. In 1481 Abergeldie passed to Sir Alexander Gordon of Midmar, first son of the 1st Earl of Huntly. The castle was built by the 4th laird of this line, Alexander, better known as Black Alister. He supported his kinsman the 4th Earl of Huntly at Corrichie in 1562 and was subsequently imprisoned by Queen Mary at St. Andrews. He took a leading part in the Gordon-Forbes feud and in 1594 his son was killed fighting the Campbells and Forbes at Glenlivet. In 1592 the castle successfully resisted a raid by the Mackintoshes and other western clans known as the Great Spulzie. When the Convenanters finally took control of Deeside in the 1640s the castle was ordered to be destroyed because Alexander, 7th laird, was an ardent Royalist, but for some reason the instruction was not executed. In 1686 Abergeldie Castle was used as a mustering point by John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, when he was raising a Highland army against William III. The castle was captured and garrisoned by General Mackay but it was soon blockaded by the Farquharsons and in 1690 Mackay had to come to its relief. He reported that it would have had to surrender within three more days if the garrison had not been “ timely succoured ”. When Queen Victoria and Albert began to develop neighbouring Balmoral castle as a holiday home they rented Abergeldie Castle, it being used by the then Queen Mother, the Duchess of Kent. It was later inhabited by the Princess Eugenie, widow of Napolean III, and then became the Deeside home of the Prince of Wales and his family. More recently it has been used to accommodate guests of the royal family when they were residing at Balmoral. The castle at present is occupied by the 21st Laird John Gordon, Baron of Abergeldie.



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