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Wed 14 May 2008

The Stone of Scone - also known as the Stone of Destiny - was kept at Scone for nearly 500 years. It was placed upon the Moot Hill and used in the coronations of the Kings of Scots until the end of the 13th century, when it was removed to Westminster Abbey. It has now been in use for the crowning of Scots monarchs for more than 1000 years, thus fulfilling an ancient prophecy :
 

The Stone has an obscure history. Traditionally it is said to have been Jacob's pillow when he saw the angels of Bethel. Another legend suggests it was brought to Scotland by Scotia, daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh. The most likely explanation is that it was a royal stone brought from Antrim to Argyll and then to Scone by Kenneth MacAlpin, the 36th King of Dalriada.

The Stone was siezed by King Edward I in 1296 and taken from Scone Abbey to Westminster Abbey. Some say that the stone placed beneath the Coronation Chair was a fake, the true Stone of Scone having been hastily hidden by the monks in an underground chamber. The truth may never be known.

Scottish Nationalists removed the Stone from Westminster in 1950 and returned it to Scotland. It was recovered in the grounds of Arbroath Abbey four months later. In 1996, the Stone was finally restored to the people of Scotland when the British Government moved it to Edinburgh Castle.

The Stone of Scone was last used at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II - and so it still performs its ancient duty, and to far greater effect, making not only the monarch of the Scots but of Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.