FIRST Minister Humza Yousaf has insisted he will make sure the Stone of Destiny “comes back up the road” as the iconic relic heads to England for the first time in decades.
Also known as the Stone of Scone, the 125kg slab of pinkish sandstone will be transported to London with high levels of security and details on its journey kept under wraps.
It will be the first outing for the Stone since it was officially returned to Scotland by Tory prime minister John Major in 1996, 700 years after it was stolen during the Wars of Independence.
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The Stone of Destiny will be placed beneath the Coronation Chair at Westminster Abbey ahead of King Charles coronation on Saturday May 6.
Ahead of its journey, expected to be Thursday evening, First Minister Humza Yousaf was asked if he had “seen off” the Stone of Destiny to London yet.
He told journalists in Holyrood: “No, I think I’m going to the ceremony later today, of course I’ll also be making sure it comes back up the road.”
As First Minister, Yousaf has been empowered under a Royal Warrant as Commissioner for the Keeping of the Regalia for the safekeeping of the Stone and to be in charge of its arrangements to return to Westminster temporarily.
A very short huddle today, where FM Humza Yousaf was asked if he’d seen off the Stone of Destiny for the Coronation.
— Abbi Garton-Crosbie (@agc_reports) April 27, 2023
“I’ll be making sure it comes back up the road,” he says pic.twitter.com/SYqtAibnX9
While the Stone of Destiny may only be 67cm in length, 24cm in width, and almost 27cm in height, it has played a massive role in centuries of royal tradition.
It was last used in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953, shortly after four Scottish students seized the Stone of Destiny in a Christmas Day raid in 1950, bringing it back to Scotland and keeping it hidden for months until it was left on the altar of Arbroath Abbey and discovered in April 1951.
The arrangements are being kept under wraps due to security concerns around the transportation, due to the iconic nature of the Stone.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said that there were no specific security threats and that the procedures were being kept secret as a “precaution”
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We previously told how the Stone of Destiny will be moved from Edinburgh Castle in a bespoke transportation box to stop it from being damaged.
Thought to be around 400 million-years-old, the Stone will be escorted to London by the police and army before being placed in Westminster Abbey.
Alba party leader Alex Salmond previously called for the First Minister, now Humza Yousaf, to refuse to allow the Stone of Destiny to be returned to England for the King’s coronation.
Alba also demanded that 100 Scots guard the stone as it travels to prevent it from being stolen.
Asked if this would be part of the level of security expected for the transportation, a Scottish Government spokesperson said: “I don’t think so.”
We previously told how Ian Hamilton, the last surviving member of the quartet who reclaimed the Stone of Destiny, sadly passed away aged 97 last year.
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Tributes flooded in for Hamilton, the lawyer who famously remained tight-lipped about his journey to Westminster Abbey.
Hamilton was the last of the four to pass away, with fellow nationalists Gavin Vernon dying on March 19 2004, teacher and political activist Kay Matheson on July 6 2013, and Alan Stuart in June 2019.
In 1996, towards the end of John Major’s time in Number 10, he agreed it would be returned to Scotland.
On July 3 that year the Tory politician told the House of Commons: “The Stone of Destiny holds a special place in the hearts of Scots. On this, the 700th anniversary of its removal from Scotland, it is appropriate to return it to its historic homeland.”
The centuries-old stone was returned on St Andrews Day, and was brought to Edinburgh where it was put on display in Edinburgh Castle.
It was initially taken to London by King Edward I of England in 1296.
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