Stirling Castle and expanded his father's building programme, creating the centrepiece of the castle, the Royal Palace, built under the direction of Sir James Hamilton of Finnart and masons brought from France. James V also died young, leaving unfinished work to be completed by his widow, Mary of Guise. His infant daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, was brought to Stirling Castle for safety, and crowned in the chapel royal on 9 September 1543. She too was brought up here, until she was sent to Inchmahome Priory, and then to France in 1548. In the 1550s, during the Regency of Mary of Guise,
Mary, Queen of Scots (opera) and murders Riccio before her eyes. As the council ponders whether to make James the Regent, they hear that Mary has fled the castle and that James is stirring up the Scottish people by accusing Mary of deserting them and conspiring with Darnley to murder Riccio. At one of his harangues, James is challenged by Mary's faithful supporter Lord Gordon. Mary appears in the crowd and accuses James of perfidy, including arranging Riccio's murder to discredit her. The crowd supports her, and she banishes James for life. Act 3 Exhausted and ill after the birth of her son and with