What would James V and his wife, Mary de Guise, want to see when they stared up at their bedchamber ceilings? In Renaissance Scotland, most folk would never know what lay behind the doors of the king and queen’s personal apartments. Most private of them all were the bedchambers, only seen by a few intimates. But Historic Scotland’s refurbishment of the royal palace will change all that, allowing visitors to experience what such apartments would have been like

A huge amount of research has gone into designing the furnishings and fittings of the apartments for an authentic look and feel. A key feature of a royal household was the use of the king and queen’s coats of arms. These were of immense importance as they proved their pedigree and right to rule. Evidence from Scotland, and abroad, shows that royals and nobles would display their arms on walls and ceilings, over fireplaces and above the entrances to their residences.

Historic Scotland has commissioned local master craftsman, John Donaldson, to hand-carve a series of oak decorations for the bedchamber ceilings. It is an immense task that will take a year to complete. The centrepiece of the King’s Bedchamber ceiling will be a magnificent 1.5m by 1.2m boss depicting a shield with Lion Rampant, supported by a pair of unicorns. Around it will be four other bosses, each a metre long – carrying the heraldry of the great chivalric orders of which James was proud to be a member. These included England’s Order of the Garter, which dated back to Edward III in around 1348. Then there were Scotland’s Order of the Thistle, the Order of St Michael, founded by Louis XI of France in 1496 and the Order of the Golden Fleece which had been conferred on him by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Victorian versions of the heraldry for each of these can be seen at Linlithgow Palace, created as replacements for Renaissance versions.

The Queen’s Bedchamber will feature 10 smaller carved oak bosses showing parts of the de Guise arms. Five will show the Cross of Jerusalem and the rest will show three alerions (eagle-like mythical birds) skewered on a single arrow.

As James V died in 1542 it is uncertain whether he saw the palace complete, but Mary de Guise used Stirling as her main residence. After her husband’s death she brought up her daughter Mary, Queen of Scots at Stirling. Eventually the dowager queen advanced her political position so far that she became regent, ruling the whole of Scotland.