The doors of the Queen’s Gallery are normally open but were closed today due to a strike by civil servants so a good chance to take a photo. The gallery was opened during the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002 and stands at the entrance to Holyrood Palace which is the official resident of the monarch in Scotland.  Originally the building was a church but had not been used for worship since 1915 and subsequently was converted to become the gallery exhibiting some of the Royal Collection of art
 A new stone arched entrance was created with the large stone lettering above the entrance cut from single pieces of stone and Scotland’s heraldic lion. The impressive oak door has gilded bronze hinges showing the lion and unicorn which is Scotland’s national animal.  They stand beside the landscapes showing the Royal Mile stretching down the road from Edinburgh Castle to Arthur’s Seat beside Holyrood Palace. The upper hinges represent flowering native trees of chestnut, laburnum, oak, rowan and hawthorn.