July 3rd, 1996
British Prime Minister John Major announced, after 700 years, the Stone of Scone [pronounced 'scoon'] - the ancient symbol of Scottish kings - was to be finally removed from London's Westminster Abbey and rightfully returned to Scotland.
Since the time of Kenneth MacAlpin, the first King of Scots at around 847, Scottish monarchs were seated upon the stone during their Coronation ceremony. At this time the stone was situated at Scone, a few miles north of Perth in Scotland.
The ancient coronation stone weighs in at approximately 336 pounds, but on Christmas Day 1950, a group of four Scottish students (Ian Hamilton, Gavin Vernon, Kay Matheson and Alan Stuart) managed to steal the Stone from Westminster Abbey and attempt to return it to Scotland themselves.
Magic what a few pints will do.
But in the process of removing it from the Abbey, they broke it into two pieces.
A major search for the stone had been ordered by the British Government, but proved unsuccessful.
After hiding the greater part of the stone in Kent for a few weeks, they risked the road blocks on the border and returned to Scotland with this piece, which they had hidden in the back of a borrowed car, along with a new accomplice Johnny Josselyn. The smaller piece was similarly brought north a little while later.
The stone's "custodians" left it on the altar of Arbroath Abbey, on April 11th 1951. Arbroath being a poignant place to plunk it...as Arbroath was the place where Scotland drafted and presented their Declaration of Independence (which is heavily borrowed from by the writers of America's Constitution) and was signed by Nobility in the 14th Century.
The Stone was then passed to a senior Glasgow politician who arranged for it to be professionally repaired by Glaswegian stonemason Robert Gray.
The Stone of Destiny was then returned to Westminster, which was in turn, returned back to Scotland, after the turning of 700 years, but is now all snuggled into it's rightful place in Edinburgh's comfy Castle on the land where it belongs.
British Prime Minister John Major announced, after 700 years, the Stone of Scone [pronounced 'scoon'] - the ancient symbol of Scottish kings - was to be finally removed from London's Westminster Abbey and rightfully returned to Scotland.
Since the time of Kenneth MacAlpin, the first King of Scots at around 847, Scottish monarchs were seated upon the stone during their Coronation ceremony. At this time the stone was situated at Scone, a few miles north of Perth in Scotland.
The ancient coronation stone weighs in at approximately 336 pounds, but on Christmas Day 1950, a group of four Scottish students (Ian Hamilton, Gavin Vernon, Kay Matheson and Alan Stuart) managed to steal the Stone from Westminster Abbey and attempt to return it to Scotland themselves.
Magic what a few pints will do.
But in the process of removing it from the Abbey, they broke it into two pieces.
A major search for the stone had been ordered by the British Government, but proved unsuccessful.
After hiding the greater part of the stone in Kent for a few weeks, they risked the road blocks on the border and returned to Scotland with this piece, which they had hidden in the back of a borrowed car, along with a new accomplice Johnny Josselyn. The smaller piece was similarly brought north a little while later.
The stone's "custodians" left it on the altar of Arbroath Abbey, on April 11th 1951. Arbroath being a poignant place to plunk it...as Arbroath was the place where Scotland drafted and presented their Declaration of Independence (which is heavily borrowed from by the writers of America's Constitution) and was signed by Nobility in the 14th Century.
The Stone was then passed to a senior Glasgow politician who arranged for it to be professionally repaired by Glaswegian stonemason Robert Gray.
The Stone of Destiny was then returned to Westminster, which was in turn, returned back to Scotland, after the turning of 700 years, but is now all snuggled into it's rightful place in Edinburgh's comfy Castle on the land where it belongs.
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