Science Fair Project Encyclopedia Dalkeith Castle was located to
the north east of Dalkeith, and was originally in the hands of
the Grahams in the 12th century and given to the Douglas family
in the early 14th Century. James Douglas of Dalkeith became the
Earl of Morton in the mid 15th century. The castle was
strategically located in an easily defensible position above a
bend in the North Esk River. In 1543, Cardinal Beaton was
imprisoned in Dalkeith Castle. It was forced open and destroyed
by the English in 1547, and in 1575 the 4th Earl of Morton built
a new castle there. In 1642 Dalkeith Castle was sold to the 2nd
Earl of Buccleuch. The 2nd Earl of Buccleuch's daughter married
the Duke of Monmouth, eldest natural son of Charles II. They
became Duke and Duchess of Monmouth & Buccleuch. When the Duke
of Monmouth died his widow, Anne, asked architect James Smith to
use William of Orange's Palace of Het Loo in Holland as a model
for Dalkeith Palace. Smith and his cousins, Gilbert and James,
signed the contract