Castle Stuart is
a restored tower house located on the Moray Firth, northeast of Inverness, in
Scotland. Mary Queen of Scots granted
this land to her half-brother James Stewart, the 1st Earl of Moray,
and he began to build Castle Stuart in 1561.
James ruled Scotland as regent for the Queen, and unfortunately he was
murdered. His son, the 2nd
Earl of Moray was also murdered, having been stabbed to death. The castle remained unfinished until James
Stuart, the 3rd Earl of Moray, completed it in 1625. It is said the 3rd earl built the
castle to protect himself from his father-in-law, the Earl of Huntly, since
Huntly was believed to have been the one who murdered his father. The fortunes of the Stuarts diminished during
the English Civil War, and when the McIntosh clan members attacked the castle, the
Stuart family fled. The castle was left in
ruin for nearly 300 years. In 1977, the
Stuart descendants purchased the castle, and over the next fifteen years they completed
the restorations. The castle has secret
stairways, hidden doors, and clever priest holes. It is currently a luxury hotel with eight
guest rooms and is believed to be haunted.
