Tour
Glamis Castle
Located
just over five miles south of the town of Forfar in Angus, Glamis
Castle was originally a 14th century keep which has been extended
extensively over the years. Macbeth was Thane of Glamis but did
not own the castle. King Malcolm II is reputed to have been murdered
in the castle (with blood stains on the floor of "King Malcolm's
Room" to prove the claim).
In the 15th
century the lands were held by Sir John Lyon, Chancellor of Scotland
who married the daughter of King Robert II. The castle is still
held by the Lyon family, now elevated to the Earls of Strathmore
and Kinghorne. The 9th Earl became a Bowe-Lyon when he married
a Yorkshire heiress. It is the childhood home of Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth The Queen Mother, the birthplace of Her Royal Highness
The Princess Margaret and the legendary setting of Shakespeare's
play "Macbeth". Though the Castle is open to visitors
it remains a family home.
The
castle has the reputation of being the most haunted in Britain,
including "Earl Beardie", the 4th Earl of Crawford who
is said to have played cards with the Devil in a walled-up room.
There is a large park, nature trail and garden and statues of
Kings James VI and Charles I still survive. In addition to the
castle, there are exhibition rooms, four shops and a restaurant.
Nearby, the Angus Folk Museum a less opulent but nevertheless
an interesting attraction. There is a Pictish cross-slab in Glamis
village manse called "King Malcolm's Stone".
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