On This Day in History: Stone of Scone Returned (2006)

It has many names: the Stone of Scone, the Stone of Destiny, Jacob’s Pillow, the Tanist Stone, the Coronation Stone. Whatever you call it, it is one of the most treasured national objects of the Scottish people. For centuries, the kings of Scotland have been seated on the Stone during their coronation ceremonies. But in 1296, King Edward I of England stole it as a part of the spoils of war, and it was moved to Westminster Abbey. Some claim that the stone that was taken was not the real stone — that resourceful monks managed to spirit the real stone away and hide it in a safe place — but that theory has never been proven.

The Stone remained in Westminster Abbey for centuries. It was fitted into a slot under the seat of the English coronation throne, St. Edward’s Chair, and has been a part of the coronation of every English (and, later, British) king or queen except for Queen Mary II, who was crowned as co-regent with her husband, King William III.

Movements to have the Stone restored to Scotland had been in various states of planning and execution almost since Edward I first captured it. In 1950, four Scottish university students managed to smuggle the Stone out of Westminster Abbey. They took it back to Scotland, but it was broken into two pieces. After repairs by a professional stonemason, it was abandoned in the Church of Scotland’s Arbroath Abbey, and was returned to Westminster Abbey when it was discovered.

In 2006, official plans to send the Stone back to Scotland were finally undertaken. On July 3, it was finally taken back to Scotland. It will remain there until the next coronation, when it will be temporarily taken back to Westminster Abbey for the ceremony.