Castle Stuart is a restored tower house

Tower house

A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation.-History:Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountain or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strategic points with reduced forces...

 on the banks of the Moray Firth

Moray Firth

The Moray Firth is a roughly triangular inlet of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotland...

, about 6.5 miles northeast of Inverness

Inverness

Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...

.

The land the castle was built on was granted to James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray , a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V, was Regent of Scotland for his nephew, the infant King James VI of Scotland, from 1567 until his assassination in 1570...

 by his half-sister, Mary, Queen of Scots, following her return to Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 in 1561. The successive murders of Stewart and his son, James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Moray

James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Moray

James Stewart , 2nd Earl of Moray was a Scottish nobleman, the son of James Stewart, 1st Lord Doune. The 2nd Earl was murdered by George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly, as the culmination of a vendetta...

, meant that the castle was finally completed by his grandson, James Stuart, 3rd Earl of Moray

James Stuart, 3rd Earl of Moray

James Stuart, 3rd Earl of Moray was the son of James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Moray and Elizabeth Stuart, 2nd Countess of Moray. He married Anne Gordon, daughter of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly and Lady Henrietta Stuart, on 2 October 1607. He inherited the title Earl of Moray when his father...

, in 1625. Though the castle initially flourished, it fell into disuse as the fortunes of the House of Stuart

House of Stuart

The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...

 sank during the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

 and Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

was executed. The castle lay derelict for 300 years before being restored; it is currently used as a luxury hotel.