Stirling Castle A few structures of the fourteenth century remain, while the outer defences fronting the town date from the early eighteenth century. Before the union with England, Stirling Castle was also one of the most used of the many Scottish royal residences, very much a palace as well as a fortress. Several Scottish Kings and Queens have been crowned at Stirling, including Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1542, and others were born or died there. There have been at least eight sieges of Stirling Castle, including several during the Wars of Scottish Independence, with the last being in 1746, when Bonnie
Secret Bond Secret Bond The Secret Bond (also known as the Secret Band) was a document drawn up by Cardinal Beaton and signed by a number of Scottish peers on 24 July 1543. They agreed to resist alliance with England by the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots to Prince Edward. Following the death of James V of Scotland in December 1542, his daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, an infant of less than a week old, succeeded to the Scottish throne. A struggle for the regency between Cardinal Beaton and Earl of Arran was won by the latter. On 1 July 1543,