When Stirling Castle became part of the royal estates, construction began between 1490 and 1600 over the centuries. During the reigns of James IV, James V and James VI, the castle became the main residence of the Scottish royal family. During this 100-year period, the three kings were influenced by the architectural styles of England, France and the Holy Roman Empire, and integrated the architectural styles of the three kingdoms into the architecture of Stirling Castle, which also reflected the international ambitions of the Stewart dynasty.

The construction works begun by James IV (r. 1488 – r. 1513) were also unfinished at the time of his death at the Battle of Floden, and his successor, James V (r. 1513 – 1542), was crowned in the unfinished Château Royal Chapel and grew up in the castle under the tutelage of Lord Erskine.

James V continued and expanded his father's building plans by building the heart of the castle, the royal palace of the Scottish royal family. Construction work was carried out under the direction of Sir James Hamilton of Fennat and the masons brought by France. Amazingly, however, James V also did not complete the construction of Stirling Castle before his death.

Subsequently, the construction of the castle was later completed by his widow King Guise, and their daughter Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was also brought to Stirling Castle for protection. When Queen Mary was sent to France in 1548, the Anglo-French hostilities continued in Scotland in the 1550s, during the regent of Queen Mother Guise. At this time, the south side of Stirling Castle was built as artillery fortifications, which formed the basis of the present external defence.

Prior to this, Henry VIII's Scottish Wars for Queen Mary were fought until 1547, when Queen Mary was taken to one of the largest islands in Loch Mentis, about 15 miles (24.1 km) from the castle. The queen was then hidden in the monastery of Inchimahum on the island.

It is worth mentioning that the name Inchimahum Monastery is derived from the Gaelic word Innes Morkmig, which means the island of St. Colmag. In 1238, the Earl of Mentiss of Scotland financed the construction of the abbey. The monastery was fortunate enough to serve as a refuge for several kings and queens for hundreds of years.

In 1930, during a visit to the island and the monastery, Morton wrote: "In the middle of the lake there is a gray shadow that rises and falls in a strange shadow. It is as if the once sacred island of Inchimahum was built with the water of a lake, like a mirage.

This islet is one of Scotland's holy lands. It is here that we can think of the life of Mary Queen of Scots, who spent her first happy hour in her gardens here. Legend has it that every place within the monastery is labeled, such as the Queen's Gazebo, the Queen's Tree, the Queen's Room. ”

Although Queen Mary had only been in hiding in the monastery for a few weeks, the Scots claimed that it was in this monastery that their queen began her life of learning Chinese and needlework. And, from the time Queen Mary landed on the island and hid in the abbey, she was surrounded by the famous "Four Mary" maids in Scottish history.

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From all of these historical times, Queen Mary was still in hiding at Stirling Castle and lived until 1547. However, Isabel Walton and her raid team were unaware of these royal secrets, and she only had a clear mind that Queen Mary would be hiding in some castle, manor, church, or abbey closest to Edinburgh Castle.

Of course, she and her team missed an important spot on their way to Stirling Castle, the Palace of Linlithgow, five miles away from Blackness Castle. The Royal Palace of Linlithgow in West Lothian, East Scotland, was once the royal palace of the kings of Scotland, and Queen Mary was born in this palace on 8 December 1542.

Although Linlithgow Palace is one of the grandest royal buildings in Scotland during the Renaissance (the private residence of the Marquess Linlithgow, Viceroy of India of the British Empire from the 20th century onwards), King James V still loved the royal palace of Stirling Castle, which his father loved.

At nearly 8 o'clock in the afternoon of 1 September 1544, Isabel and her squad ushered in the first sunset in Scotland. Arriving outside the town of Stirling, on the west bank of the River Forth where it originated, she discovered an important situation. Surrounded by rich arable land, the town is home to not only the royal castle of Stirling, but also the populous medieval town. Moreover, this large town on the banks of the River Stirling is strategically important and can be described as the "gateway to the northern plateau".

A group of Englishmen who didn't even speak Scots had broken in, and it was hard to tell if they could retreat completely. Aware of the danger, Isabel immediately ordered the group to retreat to at least 5 miles to avoid the large crowd of Scots. Before the night had yet to fall, Isabel's team hid in a large area of ancient forest southeast of Stirling Castle.

While the group was resting in the forest, Isabel summoned the knights' squire Ralph and the Duke's palace guard to Baldwin and Fast to the side for a small field meeting. Sitting on a piece of dead wood, he glanced at the faces of several people and whispered, "Brothers, what do you think we should do now?" ”

A dull Baldwin said at the right time, "Your Excellency, we don't know anything about the town of Stirling and the royal castle. If you want to find the queen here, you have to ask a local Sug. ”

Ralph, the squire on the side, also nodded, "Baldwin is right, now we are in the royal territory where a large number of Scots are gathered. Once you fight them, you will probably have to pay fifty or sixty percent of the price before you can retreat to Blakeness Castle. ”

Fast stopped joking, and raised his head to look at the commander in the dark, "Your Excellency, Stirling Castle is a royal castle, maybe there will be more knights and sergeants guarding the castle. And there are only 30 of us, and I'm worried about ......"

Isabel was also worried about whether she could complete the task this time, and felt helpless in the face of everyone's mental retreat, "Okay, Ralph and I will go to the town to find out the news of the royal castle, you wait here." ”

The squire Ralph was a little stunned, "Your Excellency, you and I are going to find out the news?" This... Very dangerous, I dare not agree with your decision. ”