High Constables and Guard of Honour of the Palace of Holyroodhouse

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Not to be confused with High Constables of Edinburgh.

High Constables and Guard of Honour of the Palace of Holyroodhouse
Active16th Century (see History) – present
CountryUnited Kingdom
RolePalace Guard
Garrison/HQEdinburgh
Commanders
Ceremonial chiefHM The Queen
Insignia
Identification
symbol		Holyrood stag with cross between antlers, surmounted by a crown

The High Constables of Holyroodhouse are a small corps of ceremonial bodyguards at the Sovereign's official residence in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. Created in the early sixteenth century to protect the Monarch in residence at Holyrood, as well as to guard the Palace and Abbey, and enforce law and order within the precincts of the Palace and the Holyrood Abbey Sanctuary.

History[]

The Abbey at Holyrood dates from around 1130, with its charter granting it the right to hold a court.[1] Like churches across the British isles the Abbey also offered sanctuary up to five miles in circumference around the Abbey, where people accused of crime and treason could flee to seek clemency and justice under the church court.[2] Those seeking sanctuary at the Abbey would go before the who would sit in judgement.

By the 1500s the Palace of Holyrood had begun to be established adjacent to the Abbey. As time went by the palace saw more use as a royal residence where members of the aristocracy and foreign dignitaries would be entertained, and where the Scottish Parliament and Privy Council would occasionally meet. Given how close the Abbey and sanctuary area was to this increasingly important location it became necessary for a guard to protect the monarch and their guests from the potentially dangerous individuals seeking sanctuary within the Abbey. The first constables to protect the monarch and palace were so appointed in the 1500s. An Act of 1617 instructed that the Constables were to be "chosen across the country by the magistrates of each burgh".[3] Because of their age some have suggested the constables have claim to be considered the oldest law enforcement body still in existence.

Over time buildings were constructed next to the Abbey to house members of the upper class who sought sanctuary. One such building is the Abbey Strand. The tenants of these buildings were nicknamed 'Abbey Lairds' (one of the most famous being The Comte d’Artois later Charles X of France). Given the increasing population of the Abbey Sanctuary, and nature of the residents, the constables were soon required to enforce law and order within the precincts of the Palace and the Holyrood Abbey Sanctuary.[4][5][6]

Law and order at the Palace and Abbey would be split between the hereditary Keeper of the Palace of Holyroodhouse (the Duke of Hamilton), the and the High Constables who would answer to the Bailie. The Keeper of the Palace of Holyroodhouse appoints the Bailie of Holyroodhouse, who is responsible for law and order within the Holyrood Abbey Sanctuary. The High Constables of Holyroodhouse are responsible to the Keeper and enforce the justice of the Bailie. The senior officer of the High Constables is called the Moderator.[7]

After the Act of Union, Scottish peers could elect 16 of their number to sit as Representative Peers in the House of Lords at Westminster. The vote would take place at Holyrood Palace and the High Constables would ensure the peers were protected during the gathering, and that order was maintained during the election process.[8]

The original home of the constables was the guardroom, until it was replaced in 1857.[9]

Today[]

Today the High Constables parade whenever the Sovereign, or the Lord High Commissioner of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, is in residence.[10][11] They form part of the Royal Household in Scotland.

They provide a guard of honour for the Queen and her guests at the Palace, and at state functions such as banquets and garden parties.[12]

Also present at the Palace of Holyroodhouse for such events is the Doorward Guard of Partisans, who comprised the personal retainers of the Lord High Constable of Scotland, responsible for the Sovereign's safety while in Edinburgh,[13] and the Royal Company of Archers, a ceremonial unit that serves as the Queens bodyguard in Scotland.

The home of the constables today is the Abbey Courthouse, which was restored in 1958 along with the old prison (refurbished into the Baillie's office).[14]

Uniform[]

In 1910 King George V proposed for the High Constables a uniform of blue cloth with silver buttons and a distinctive blue hat turned up at one side.[15]

Their ceremonial uniform today reflects the original and includes a blue velvet suit, a hat and a thin sword in a black leather scabbard.[16]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Appendix: Abstracts of charters and other documents | British History Online".
  2. ^ http://www.royal-mile.com/interest/abbey-sanctuary.html[bare URL]
  3. ^ "Historic event for High Constables".
  4. ^ "Holyrood Abbey". 18 October 2018.
  5. ^ "The many lives of Abbey Strand".
  6. ^ http://www.royal-mile.com/interest/abbey-sanctuary.html[bare URL]
  7. ^ Goodman, J.; Ilk, I.M. (1983). Debrett's Royal Scotland. Putnam. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-399-12831-8. Retrieved 30 April 2019. ... who presides over the Abbey Court of Holyrood and over the High Constables of Holyroodhouse and their Guard of Honour mounted on the Sovereign. The Bailie is responsible in principle for maintaining law and order under the Hereditary Keeper.
  8. ^ "England, Scotland and the Treaty of Union, 1706-08 | History of Parliament Online".
  9. ^ "Holyroodhouse, Abbey Court House (Lb28027)".
  10. ^ Bruce, A.; Calder, J.; Cator, M. (1999). Keepers of the kingdom: the ancient offices of Britain. Vendome Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-86565-202-6. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  11. ^ Hoey, B. (1992). All the Queen's Men: Inside the Royal Household. HarperCollins. p. 223. ISBN 978-0-246-13851-4. Retrieved 30 April 2019. If the Yeomen of the Guard can claim to be the oldest military unit in the world, the High Constables of Holyroodhouse have an equally valid claim to be the oldest police force. Their origins ...
  12. ^ https://www.rct.uk/sites/default/files/The%20Queen%27s%20Year%20-%20Uniforms.pdf[bare URL]
  13. ^ Country Life. 1963. p. 430. Retrieved 30 April 2019. ... who as Lord High Constable was constitutionally the premier military personage of Scotland as well as the senior Great Officer of the Scottish Royal Household, and whose Doorward Guard of Partisans was the nearest Scottish equivalent to the English Yeomen of the Guard.
  14. ^ "Holyroodhouse, Abbey Court House (Lb28027)".
  15. ^ https://www.rct.uk/sites/default/files/The%20Queen%27s%20Year%20-%20Uniforms.pdf[bare URL]
  16. ^ Books and Bookmen. Hansom Books. 1976. p. 22. Retrieved 30 April 2019. ... give their services for free, as do the High Constables of Holyroodhouse in their blue coats and blackcock feathers.
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