Holyrood Abbey abbey's position close to Edinburgh Castle meant that it was often visited by Scotland's kings, who were lodged in the guest house situated to the west of the abbey cloister. In the mid-15th century, with the emergence of Edinburgh as the main seat of the royal court and the chief city in the kingdom, the Kings of Scots increasingly used the accommodation at Holyrood for secular purposes. James II and his twin brother Alexander, Duke of Rothesay, were born there in October 1430. James was also crowned at Holyrood in 1437 and building works were carried out before his marriage
James IV of Scotland cause of my coming." Nonetheless, Anglo-Scottish relations generally remained stable until the death of Henry VII in 1509. James saw the importance of building a fleet that could provide Scotland with a strong maritime presence. James founded two new dockyards for this purpose and acquired a total of 38 ships for the Royal Scots Navy, including the "Margaret", and the carrack "Great Michael". The latter, built at great expense at Newhaven, near Edinburgh and launched in 1511, was in length, weighed 1,000 tons and was, at that time, the largest ship in the world. James IV was a true Renaissance