Now there’s a thought, King of America Charles Edward Stewart. Actually it was more than a thought du du dahhhhhhhhhh In November 1782 4 gentlemen from America arrived at San Clemente Palazzo in Florence to put this offer to the exiled King Charles Edward Stewart, who we all know as the Bonnie Prince Charlie. When establishing […]
In the first or a new series ScotClans, Rodger Moffet looks at some of the most popular of Scotland’s clan crests and examines how they have come about. From daring deeds to religious symbols many well known clan crests have a fascinating back story… Clan Stewart and the Pelican. There are several crests associated with […]
The Royal Mile, one of the most famous streets in Edinburgh, runs from the castle all the way down to Holyrood Palace. When Edinburgh castle was first established this was the only accessible route, a natural ramp formed thousands of years ago gave access to a castle otherwise impregnable from the east. With the establishment […]
Johnnie Armstrong of Gilnockie was once one of the most popular, powerful, and feared clan chiefs in the Scottish borders. However, after his execution in 1530 by order of James V, Clan Armstrong have been without a chief for over 450 years. The Border Reivers were a band of raiders along the Scottish-English border from […]
A new series of stamps by the Royal Mail have been issued, depicting the Stewart monarchs who ruled Scotland between 1406 and 1603, the year of the Union of the Crowns. The series starts with James I (1406-1437) and stops at James VI (1567-1603) who went on the become the king of England, uniting to […]
On the 8th of February, 1587 Mary I of Scotland was executed for treason at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire. She was found guilty of conspiring against her cousin Elizabeth of England, and so after 18 years of confinement, Mary was eventually taken to the scaffold where she was beheaded at the age of 44. The […]
The relationship between Scotland and England wasn’t always as amicable as it is today. From the late 13th century to the 16th century, Scotland and England were constantly at war with each other. This created a lawless environment where crime soared, people from both sides of the border would live more like outlaws, taking advantage […]
Thomas Learmonth from Ercildoune (now Earlston), better known as Thomas the Rhymer was a 13th century Laird, poet and a supposed prophet. Legend tells us how Thomas the Rhymer went out walking one day and fell asleep beneath a tree on the side of the Eildon Hills. He awoke to find a shining woman sitting […]
Having discovered the game of tennis while in captivity as a child, King James I had his own court built when he returned to Scotland in 1424. When he was constantly losing balls down a nearby sewer, he ordered it to be blocked up. James I had numerous enemies – the nobilty were unhappy with […]
