Located in the city of Stirling, Scotland, Stirling Castle is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, giving it a strong defensive position. Its strategic location, guarding what was, until the 1930s, the farthest downstream crossing of the River Forth, made it an important fortification from the earliest times. Most of the principal buildings of the castle date from the 15th and 16th centuries, but a few structures remain from the 14th century. The outer defenses facing the town date from the early 18th century. Several Scottish kings and queens have been crowned at Stirling, most notably Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1543. There have been at least eight sieges of Stirling Castle, including several during the Wars of Scottish Independence. The last siege was in 1746 when Bonnie Prince Charlie unsuccessfully tried to take the castle.