Tour Scotland 4K travel video, with Scottish music, the quadrangle in Holyrood Palace on ancestry, genealogy family history visit to Edinburgh, Britain, United Kingdom. The Palace of Holyroodhouse as it stands today was designed by Sir William Bruce and built between 1671 and 1678, with the exception of the 16th century north west tower built by King James V. The palace is laid out round a central, classical style three storey plus attic quadrangle layout. Sir William Bruce was born in 1630 in Blairhall, Fife, the second son of Robert Bruce of Blairhall and Katherine Preston. He may have attended St Andrews University. The Bruces were a well connected Episcopalian family, strongly loyal to the king, and descended from Thomas Bruce, a cousin of King Robert II, who had been granted lands in Clackmannan and Fife. Bruce's first cousin Edward Bruce was created Earl of Kincardine in 1643. Bruce was a merchant in Rotterdam during the 1650s, and played a role in the Restoration of King Charles II in 1659. He carried messages between the exiled king and General Monck, and his loyalty to the king was rewarded with lucrative official appointments, including that of Surveyor General of the King's Works in Scotland, effectively making Bruce the " king's architect ". His patrons included John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, the most powerful man in Scotland at that time, and Bruce rose to become a member of Parliament, and briefly sat on the Scottish Privy Council. Despite his lack of technical expertise, Bruce became the most prominent architect of his time in Scotland. He worked with competent masons and professional builders, to whom he imparted a classical vocabulary; thus his influence was carried far beyond his own aristocratic circle. Beginning in the 1660s, Bruce built and remodelled a number of country houses, including Thirlestane Castle for the Duke of Lauderdale, and Prestonfield House. Among his most significant work was his own Palladian mansion at Kinross, Perthshire, built on the Loch Leven estate which he had purchased in 1675. As the king's architect he undertook the rebuilding of the Royal Palace of Holyroodhouse in the 1670s, which gave the palace its present appearance. After the death of King Charles II Bruce lost political favour, and later, following the accession of William and Mary, he was imprisoned more than once as a suspected Jacobite. However, he managed to continue his architectural work, often providing his services to others with Jacobite sympathies. He died on 1 January 1710. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day. Find things to see and do in Scotland where you are always welcome.
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