Linlithgow Palace

This morning while walking round Linlithgow Loch we saw six coot nests but only one lot of chicks appeared to have hatched. The great crested grebes seemed to be offering each other gifts of weeds which seemed a bit late for a courtship display. Thre were plenty of swans and some ducks but no young. I managed to get several good photos of the birds and reflections but then I decided to do an occasional series on places connected with the famous but tragic Mary Queen of Scots so it's the Palace instead.

Mary became Queen when she was only six days old when her father James V died. She was born in Linlithgow Palace in 1542 and eventually became the French Queen but returned to Scotland when her husband died. She seems to have been manipulated and as a result made some bad decisions causing her much sadness, rejection and tragedy. Mary was forced to give up her throne to her infant son who became the first king of both Scotland and later James I of England. Subsequently she was imprisoned in England and after many years was executed for supposedly plotting against her cousin Elizabeth I of England.

(Mary Queen of Scots Links 1)