Commissioned by James VI, the Chapel Royal was the last royal building in the castle.

It was built in less than seven months in 1594 for the baptism of Prince Henry, the eldest child of James and his wife Queen Anna. He was heir to the throne, though he died at 18 and never became king.

The old Chapel Royal, where Mary Queen of Scots was crowned in 1543, was demolished when the present one was built.

Scotland had become a Protestant country in 1560, and the Chapel Royal was one of the first churches newly built for Presbyterian worship. This Classically inspired building has an imposing doorway set within a triumphal arch, and three pairs of arched windows looking out onto the Inner Close.

On becoming James I of England in 1603, James VI left Scotland to live in London. When he died in 1625, his younger son succeeded him as Charles I.

A coronation visit was expected, and work began in 1628 to redecorate the Chapel Royal. A frieze was painted by the artist Valentine Jenkin which still survives. It includes the Honours of Scotland (the nation’s crown jewels) and the monogram CR1 (for ‘King Charles I’). The trompe l’oeil window in the west gable mimics the real one in the east wall.

Charles visited in 1633, after which the Chapel Royal fell into neglect. Like the other royal buildings in the castle it was eventually taken over by the army. The Chapel Royal became a dining hall, a schoolroom and storerooms.