The High Constables of Holyroodhouse are a small corps of ceremonial bodyguards at the Sovereign's official residence in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh. Created in the early sixteenth century to protect the Monarch in residence at Holyrood, as well as to guard the Palace and Abbey, and enforce law and order within the precincts of the Palace and the Holyrood Abbey Sanctuary. History Law and Order in the Abbey The Abbey at Holyrood dates from around 1130, with its charter granting it the right to hold a court. Like churches across the British isles the Abbey also offered sanctuary up to five miles in circumference around the Abbey, where people accused of crime and treason could flee to seek clemency and justice under the church court. Those seeking sanctuary at the Abbey would go before the Bailie of Holyroodhouse who would sit in judgement. By the 1500s the Palace of Holyrood had begun to be established adjacent to the Abbey. As time went by the palace saw more use as a royal residence where members of the aristocracy and foreign dignitaries would be entertained, and where the Scottish Parliament and Privy Council would occasionally meet. Given how close the Abbey and sanctuary area was to this increasingly important location it became necessary for a guard to protect the monarch and their guests from the potentially dangerous individuals seeking sanctuary within the Abbey. The first constables to protect the monarch and palace were so appointed in the 1500s. An Act of 1617 instructed that the Constables were to be "chosen across the country by the magistrates of each burgh". Because of their age some have suggested the constables have claim to be considered the oldest law enforcement body still in existence. Over time buildings were constructed next to the Abbey to house members of the upper class who sought sanctuary. One such building is the Abbey Strand. The tenants of these buildings were nicknamed 'Abbey Lairds' (one of the most famous being The Comte d’Artois later Charles X of France). Given the increasing population of the Abbey Sanctuary, and nature of the residents, the constables were soon required to enforce law and order within the precincts of the Palace and the Holyrood Abbey Sanctuary. Law and order at the Palace and Abbey would be split between the hereditary Keeper of the Palace of Holyroodhouse (the Duke of Hamilton), the Bailie of Holyroodhouse