One who did not doubt his young queen was James Merschall, who was in charge of the royal larder. He had heard all the arguments of the reformers, who feared that a Catholic queen would endeavour to destroy the newly established religion. James detested the reformers and most especially their chief spokesman, John Knox. But he knew Mary Stuart would never follow the same course that her cousin Mary Tudor had followed in England, for nothing could be gained by burning the reformers at the stake. He felt that his fair Scots queen would continue to follow the teachings of her own church; he also knew that her promise not to interfere with an individual’s right to follow their conscience was a genuine one. As far as James was concerned, the fire-breathing Knox could sleep peacefully in his bed, for no martyr’s blood would be spilt in Scotland.



So it was with a keen sense of devotion to his young mistress that James turned his attention to the task of organising the provisions for the queen’s supper table. His first visit was to the palace kitchen, situated next to the turnpike stair in the east range, where fine French cuisine was already being prepared for the evening meal.

Everything in the great kitchen was as usual that day. The large open fire was filled with iron pots hanging on tripods blackened by the heat of the burning coals. Two large salmon were boiling in a huge pot in preparation for the servant’s meal. Salmon was commonly found in Scotland and James had often heard the servants complain about the number of times they had to eat it every week. The cook told James that the queen had ordered a supper which consisted of soup a la reine, followed by friars’ fish, then venison soaked in claret. The meal was to be rounded off with a confection of pears and apples mixed with the best French wine.

A haunch of venison had been sent to the kitchen the previous night as it had to be soaked in the claret for at least 6 hours before cooking. But James still had to supply the kitchen with veal, fowl and herbs – the main ingredients of the rich white soup, which Mary, Queen of Scots’ mother, Marie of Guise, had introduced to Scotland from France. He sent his young assistant down to the stank, or fish pond, to the west of the palace stables, to get the finest red trout for the dish known as friars’ fish, which also contained herbs, spices, lemon, anchovies and Rhenish wine.

As they were returning to the larder through the palace courtyard, James and the boy heard the blast of the hunting horn coming from far off in the great oaks of Falkland Wood. James could picture the scene as the young queen and her retinue gave chase to the stags. It would not be long until the royal party returned, ravenous for fine French cuisine. The horn was also heard in the royal apartments, where Mary Beaton, one of the queen’s ladies-in-waiting, was sitting by an open window. She was embroidering a small decorative panel which incorporated the royal emblems of Scotland, England and France – the thistle, the rose and the fleur-de-lys.