After James went to England he could seldom be lured from the luxury of his English palaces to visit his northern residences, but he did visit Falkland once again in the year 1617. Tremendous preparations were made for the royal visit, eighty carts lumbered up from Kirkcaldy with the luggage, and a large gathering of nobles and gentlemen made Falkland once more a gay and busy place. Charles I. came to Falkland once in the summer of 1633, after which the palace was never again to rejoice in great regal splendour. When Charles II. was being supported by the Presbyterians of Scotland, he spent a little time there, much worried by the persistency of his friends, who insisted upon his signing the Covenant. After he departed, no monarch ever resided in the palace, which was given to a Cromwellian officer during the Commonwealth, but which, at the Restoration, again became the property of the Crown. Lying deserted and neglected all through the eighteenth century, the palace became a quarry for those who needed building materials, till in 1820 it was bought by Mr. John Bruce of Grangehill, who, with the assistance of Sir Walter Scott, arrested the ruin and restored the remaining structure. CHAPTER XX BALMORAL CASTLE Sir James Clark's suggestion that the valley of the Dee was a neighbourhood possessing all the qualifications of a health resort, induced the Prince Consort to purchase Balmoral Castle in 1852. Both he and the Queen found the lonely situation of the castle among the rugged hills, quite delightful, and though Prince Albert had at first only taken a lease, he soon bought the entire property, handing it over to the Queen as a possession for the reigning monarchs. Though belonging to the Farquharsons for about 150 years, the last tenant of Balmoral had been Sir Robert Gordon, who, having been high in the diplomatic world, filled his house with many distinguished guests. Sir Robert had considerably enlarged the castle, but it was not sufficient for the needs of a Court, quiet and homelike as it might be. A new castle was commenced in 1853, largely from the plans and ideas of the Prince Consort, whose devoted wife called it "his own creation, own work, own building." To-day, the castle, built of native granite in the Scottish baronial style, stands out strikingly white among the dark wooded hills. [Illustration: BALMORAL CASTLE. Erected in 1853, following the plans of the Prince Consort. Built of native granite in the Scottish baronial style, it stands out strikingly white among the dark wooded hills.]