Strathbogie was the first castle built on this site during the late-12th century. The Fifes of Strathbogie surrendered it after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Six years later, Robert the Bruce, King of the Scotts, gifted it to Sir Adam de Gordon in appreciation for negotiating a reconciliation with Pope John XXII. After the citadel was destroyed by the Earl of Moray in the mid-15th century, the current castle was constructed. It was expanded and repeatedly defended by the Clan Gordon for two hundred years until 1650. The castle exchanged hands several times during the Jacobite risings (1688 through 1746), a series of battles aimed at returning the House of Stuart to Great Britain’s throne. After the Battle of Culloden ended the rebellion, Huntly castle slowly fell into ruins.
