The relic has been kept in Scone Abbey in Scone, Scotland, near Perth, for centuries. During the English conquest of Scotland in 1296, troops headed by Edward I were able to grab the stone, which was later used for the coronation of England’s rulers. Moot Hill, in the grounds of today’s Scone Palace, is said to have been the scene of 42 Scottish kings’ coronations between the 9th and 17th centuries.
Moot Hill, in the grounds of today’s Scone Palace, is said to have been the scene of 42 Scottish kings’ coronations between the 9th and 17th centuries.
Two significant exceptions to this pattern are King James II, who was presumably not keen to return to Perth so soon after his father’s killing there, and Mary, Queen of Scots, the only queen who might have been crowned there but was instead kept under safety at Stirling Castle. King James II, most doubt reluctant to return to Perth so soon after his father’s killing there.
Some think the stone was Jacob’s Pillow, which was brought back from the Holy Land in the 9th century by an Egyptian princess called Scota. The stone arrived in Scotland at the opportune time: just as Kenneth MacAlpin was preparing to combine the Picts and Scots under the reign of the new Kingdom of Scotland, named Alba, the stone arrived.
The oldest clear evidence of the stone’s use in coronation ceremonies dates back to Alexander III’s crowning in 1249. There was just one additional coronation after that, in 1292, performed by John Balliol, before King Edward I had the stone removed in 1296. The stone’s fabled importance undoubtedly increased Edward’s desire to get it, since he considered it as proof that he had conquered Scotland.
Edward brought the stone to Westminster and commissioned the creation of a one-of-a-kind throne. The stone was placed beneath the monarch’s seat in this throne to symbolise England’s superiority over her neighbour.
Myths began to multiply and spread shortly after Edward stole the Stone of Scone. According to urban legend, the friars of Scone Monastery replaced the current Stone and hid it elsewhere.
It is highly unlikely that the stone was replaced, as the wear on the piece now in Edinburgh indicates ceremonial use prior to Edward’s theft.
Because the Stone remained in Westminster for the remainder of Edward’s reign and later became a component of the coronation chair for all subsequent English and British kings, it is reasonable to assume that Edward was convinced that his choice was correct. On Christmas Day 1950, four Scottish students stole the stone.
The move was a ploy to gain support for Scottish independence; however, the uproar was so great that the border between Scotland and England was closed for the first time in 400 years, causing students to panic, and most of the stone was buried in a field in Kent until the uproar died down. When they discovered the stone, it had broken into two pieces, so they buried the larger part. It was a bomb planted by suffragettes in 1914 that caused the damage that nobody noticed until the students moved it.
Some believe that the stone returned to Westminster in 1951, and later to Scotland in 1996, was a replica rather than the original.
However, scientific examinations conducted in 1998 practically proved that the stone now located in Edinburgh is the same stone that was taken from Westminster Abbey.
