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The Stone of Destiny

The Stone of Destiny underneath the Coronation Chair at Westminster Abbey. This image is copyright free

In the first half of the first millennium Irish migrants crossed to what is now Scotland and set up a colony consisting of three settlements on Islay, Lorn and Kintyre. This colony was called "Argyle", which means "the eastern Irish". The Irish of Argyle, the Dalriada as they were called, eventually achieved dominance over the native Picts, demonstrated by the fact that the word "Scot" was actually the Roman name for Irish migrants. Dominance generally came about through cultural assimilation rather than through fighting. The Picts adopted Christianity in its Irish form and started speaking Gaelic. The coming together of Pict and Irish was enhanced by the Pict habit of marrying their daughters to prominent foreigners. In this way three Dalriadan kings found their way to power in Pictland. The third of these kings, Kenneth MacAlpin, who ruled from 840 until 857, established hereditary monarchy to rule the two peoples in unison. He is said to have brought the Stone of Destiny from his western Irish homeland and placed it in the church at Scone, as a symbol of his vision of a united future. Kenneth then had fourteen male descendents who ruled in succession until 1034.

The Stone of Destiny remained at Scone until 1296. By this time Edward the First of England had defeated Wales, and installed a puppet king, Jean de Baliol, known as John the First, on the the Scottish throne. When John refused to support Edward in war against France, Edward invaded Scotland. John surrendered in 1296, the Great Seal of Scotland was smashed, and the Stone of Destiny was carried off to London where it remained until November 1996.

On St Andrews Day, the 30th of November, 1996 the Stone of Destiny was returned to Scotland. 10 000 people watched the procession which accompanied the stone on its journey from Holyrood Palace, down the Royal Mile, to Edinburgh Castle. The stone can now be seen at the castle, and will only be temporally returned to London when a new monarch is crowned, when it will sit once again under the Coronation Seat in Westminster Abbey.