Holyrood Abbey was re-established as the Chapel Royal by James VII and II, adapted for Catholic worship to serve as the spiritual home of the Order of the Thistle. This print depicts the interior following its transformation by architect James Smith and woodcarver Grinling Gibbons. When news of the arrival of William of Orange on British shores reached Edinburgh, an anti-Catholic mob burst into the Palace and vandalised the Chapel.

Ex. cat.