West Lothian crime: Linlithgow Palace vandalised and defaced with police searching for four youths

Birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots is damaged in vandalism attack

A West Lothian palace which was once home to Scotland’s monarchs has been defaced by youths. The vandalism took place at Linlithgow Palace at around 9pm on Thursday, April 20. Several walls and flagstone floors inside the palace were defaced using spray paint, police said. A 15th century fountain on the palace grounds was also damaged.

Detectives are looking to trace four youths, who they believe were involved in vandalising the historic palace. The four suspects were seen leaving the visitor attraction via scaffolding positioned at the rear of the Palace. Officers said that all of the teenagers were seen to be wearing dark clothing and were aged between 13 and 16 years old. Police are appealing to the public for information, and are urging individuals who saw anyone acting suspiciously in the area around the time of the incident to come forward. If you have any information, you can contact Police Scotland by calling 101 and quoting incident number 3940 of 20 April 2023. Alternatively if you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Linlithgow Palace, which is now a visitor attraction run by Historic Environment Scotland, was originally built in the 12th century. After Linlithgow was partially destroyed in a fire, King James I rebuilt the palace to be a grand residence for Scottish royalty. It was the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots, who spent much of her childhood and adult life in Linlithgow.