About
The Museum of The Royal Regiment of Scotland, housed within Edinburgh Castle, tells the story of Scotland's senior line infantry regiment and the six distinguished antecedent regiments that merged to form it in 2006. Opened in 2013 within the castle complex, the museum brings together the regimental histories of the Royal Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers, the King's Own Scottish Borderers, the Black Watch (excluding the Perth museum), the Highlanders, and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
The Royal Regiment of Scotland was created on 28 March 2006 as part of the restructuring of the British Army's infantry. The merger united six regiments with combined histories spanning more than three centuries, representing some of the most celebrated names in Scottish and British military history. Together they carry battle honours from the Siege of Tangier in the seventeenth century through to the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq in the twenty-first.
The museum's collections include uniforms, weapons, medals, regimental silver, and personal artefacts belonging to soldiers across three hundred years of active service. Among the highlights are Victoria Cross and George Cross medals, dress uniforms in Highland and Lowland tradition, and campaign material from the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimea, two World Wars, the Falklands, the Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The regimental silver — formal dining silver accumulated over centuries — represents both the social culture of the officer class and the craft traditions of Scottish and English silversmiths.
Visitors should be aware that entry to the museum requires a ticket to Edinburgh Castle, which is managed by Historic Environment Scotland. The castle itself is one of the most visited attractions in the United Kingdom, and the approach via the Royal Mile and through the castle gatehouse is part of the dramatic experience. The museum occupies dedicated space within the castle complex, close to the National War Museum Scotland.
The regiment's current battalions continue to serve around the world, and the museum maintains a living connection to contemporary military service alongside its historical collections. Regular events, talks, and ceremonial occasions associated with the regiment bring the history into the present.
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Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
📅 Best Times to Visit
Quietest: Monday, Tuesday
Busiest: Saturday, Sunday
💡 Weekday mornings; arrive at opening time to beat coach tours
💡 Visitor Tips
- The museum requires an Edinburgh Castle ticket — book online in advance, especially in summer, as queues at the gate can be very long. Online booking also avoids the gate surcharge.
- Allow at least half a day for Edinburgh Castle as a whole; the museum itself is one of several major attractions within the complex.
- The castle is on a steep hill with significant gradients — if you have mobility requirements, contact Historic Environment Scotland before visiting to arrange the accessibility vehicle.
- The National War Museum Scotland is also within the castle and is an excellent complement to the regimental museum — together they give a comprehensive picture of Scottish military history.
- The castle is an active military garrison — be prepared for occasional ceremonial events, including the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in August, which requires separate tickets.
- The views from the castle battlements over Edinburgh are among the finest in the city — bring a camera and allow time for the Half Moon Battery and Argyle Battery viewpoints.
- Children often respond strongly to the Colours and uniforms displays; the museum provides family interpretation materials on request.
- This museum is specifically about The Royal Regiment of Scotland and its six antecedent regiments — it is entirely separate from The Black Watch Castle and Museum in Perth, which covers the Black Watch exclusively.
Highlights
Victoria Cross Medal Collection
The museum holds a significant collection of Victoria Cross medals won by soldiers of the six antecedent regiments, representing acts of extreme valour across the campaigns of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The VC, instituted in 1856 following the Crimean War, is the highest military decoration in the British honours system. The display contextualises each medal with the account of the action for which it was awarded, giving faces and stories to the abstract concept of regimental courage.
Highland and Lowland Uniforms
The collection includes dress and service uniforms representing all six antecedent regiments, spanning three centuries of Highland and Lowland military tradition. Highland dress uniforms — with kilts, feather bonnets, doublets, and sporrans — sit alongside the plainer but equally distinctive Lowland dress of the Royal Scots and the King's Own Scottish Borderers.
The contrast illustrates the diversity within Scottish military culture and the complex relationship between Highland romanticism and the practical realities of infantry service.
Regimental Silver
The regimental silver collections of the six antecedent regiments represent centuries of accumulated dining silver — cups, trophies, candelabra, and centrepieces in silver and silver-gilt presented by officers, allied regiments, and grateful communities. Scottish and English silversmiths feature prominently, and several pieces bear historical inscriptions recording campaigns, battles, and royal presentations.
The silver illustrates both the social world of the officers' mess and the formal ceremonial life that distinguished the historic county regiment.
Battle Honours and Colours
The display of Regimental Colours — the silk flags carried into battle — is one of the most emotionally resonant elements of any regimental museum. The Colours of the antecedent regiments, many tattered and faded from long service, bear the embroidered battle honours accumulated over three hundred years.
Each honour — from Tangier and Blenheim to Gallipoli and El Alamein to Afghanistan — represents a campaign in which Scottish soldiers fought and died.
Retiring Colours to a regimental museum is the culmination of a life of service.
Collections
The museum's collections encompass the combined regimental heritage of six Scottish infantry regiments: the Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), the Royal Highland Fusiliers, the King's Own Scottish Borderers, the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment), the Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons), and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
Holdings include uniforms and accoutrements from the seventeenth century to the present, weapons from the flintlock musket to modern small arms, an extensive medal collection including Victoria Cross and George Cross awards, regimental silver from officers' messes, Regimental Colours, personal documents and photographs, and campaign material from more than three centuries of active service.
The combined collections represent one of the most comprehensive records of Scottish military history held in a single institution.
The Royal Regiment of Scotland — From Six to One
The main permanent exhibition tracing the formation of The Royal Regiment of Scotland from its six antecedent regiments, covering the 2006 merger and the histories of each predecessor regiment through artefacts, uniforms, medals, and personal testimony.
📍 Main Gallery, Museum of The Royal Regiment of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle
Three Centuries of Scottish Infantry Service
A chronological display of military service from the late seventeenth century to the present day, incorporating campaign material from major conflicts of the past three hundred years.
📍 Gallery 2, Museum of The Royal Regiment of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.
Nearby Museums (5 within 6 miles)
Regimental Museum of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Military History
Edinburgh — ~1 min walk (0.1 mi)