At the Southwest tip of the Inchmurrin island are the ruins of the 14th century castle built by Duncan the Eighth Earl of Lennox. The castle is recorded as having been completed by 1393 and the Earls of Lennox took up residence in the 14th century when they moved from their castle in Balloch during the plague. The castle was composed of three rooms, outbuildings and a courtyard.
King Robert the I is believed to have been given refuge here by the Fifth Earl of Lennox after his defeat by the MacDougalls of Lorne. King Robert the I also established a deer park here in the 14th century.
Isabella, countess of Albany and the daughter of the Eighth earl of Lennox was exiled here after 1425 when her husband, father and two sons were all executed on the same day at Stirling by King James I. She lived at the castle for the rest of her life and died on the island in 1460 after which the castle was abandoned. It is recorded that Sir John Colquhoun of Luss was killed here in 1439 during a raid led by Lachlan MacLean.
King James the IV used the castle as a hunting lodge around 1506 as did King James the VI in later years.
Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.