On this day, 1951: The Stone of Destiny

Two young children look at the Stone of Destiny at Edinburgh Castle. Picture: TSPL

To look at, the Stone of Destiny is an object remarkable only for its size (it tips 152kg on a set of scales), but its historic and symbolic importance outweighs its plain features.

The Stone of Destiny was historically used to crown monarchs during coronations – the last royal to use the Stone of Destiny was our current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953.

In 1296, it was taken by the English king Edward I from the now-ruined Scone Palace, and lay in Westminster Abbey until the mid-20th century, when a group of Scottish students staged what they would have called a repatriation of the stone by taking it to Arbroath Abbey and draping a Saltire over it.

The next year, in 1951, it was reinstalled in Westminster Abbey. Theories about this account question whether the original stone was, in fact, returned to Westminster Abbey; doubts have also been raised about whether the stone that lay in London for seven centuries was actually the Stone of Destiny or a fake.

Whatever the case, the Stone of Destiny as people recognise it has been at Edinburgh Castle since St Andrews Day in 1996. A replica also exists at Scone Palace.