Everything you need to know about the Stone of Destiny
An ancient and controversial block of stone has been sent over from Edinburgh Castle to London for the coronation of King Charles III.
The stone arrived in London on April 29 and was carried from Scotland in a special carrier made from Scottish oak.
Charles became King immediately following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8 and was officially proclaimed King by the Accession Council on September 10.
However, the coronation on May 6 will see him officially crowned as King — with a stone held captive in England for almost 700 years lending a hand.
The Stone of Destiny, or the Stone of Scone, is an oblong block of sandstone standing just 66 centimetres high.
Its earliest origins are unknown, but it has a long history spanning at least 1,200 years.
The stone was first used to crown a Scottish king in 840 AD when Kenneth McAlpin used it in his coronation in the village of Scone. Since then, around 60 kings and queens have sat upon it during their coronations.
It is the world’s oldest artefact still used to make monarchs and represents the ancient roots of the kingdom of Scotland.
For centuries, the stone was associated with the crowning of Scottish kings, including Macbeth.
However, that changed in 1296, when Edward I, the “Hammer of the Scots”, seized it from the Scone Abbey amid a war north of the border and had it taken back to England.
He had the stone built into a special chair which has since been marked the Coronation Chair.
It was a blunt message to the Scottish, taking away the stone which had been used to crown generations of their monarchs. Since then, English kings and queens would sit upon the stone and claim the right to rule Scotland as well.
The stone of Destiny is usually displayed in the Crown Room in Edinburgh Castle but has travelled far since it was first brought to Scone.
Edward I had the stone installed in Westminster Abbey in London, where it remained for almost 700 years, until Christmas Day, 1950.
That was when four Scottish students “liberated” the stone from the abbey - sneaking into the church at about 4am, according to BBC.
The last of the former students involved in the heist, Ian Hamilton, died on October 3, 2022, aged 97.
Mr Hamilton said a piece of the stone broke off as they began to drag it, and he picked it up and ran with it as if it was a rugby ball.
The group of students temporarily buried the blocks before driving them to Scotland where they were given to the Scottish Covenant Association and put back together.
A few months later, the association decided it should be returned to London.
In 1996, the stone was officially returned to Scotland amid a ceremony at Edinburgh Castle.
The Stone of Destiny is traditionally used in coronation ceremonies, and King Charles III’s will be no different.
It was last used in 1953, after being brought back from Arbroath, for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
In 2020, Scotland’s then-first minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed plans to relocate the stone permanently in Perth, central Scotland.
The stone will only leave Scotland for a coronation in Westminster Abbey.
King Charles III will sit upon the stone, within the Royal Throne, for his coronation on May 6.
Image credit: Getty