1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:12,400 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:16,439 Speaker 1: a show for those who can never know enough about history. 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: I'm Gay Bluesier, and today we're looking at the triumphant 5 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 1: return of an ancient symbol of Scottish kingmaking, the legendary 6 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: Stone of Destiny. The day was November, the centuries old 7 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 1: Stone of Destiny was officially returned to Scotland and put 8 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:47,519 Speaker 1: on display in Edinburgh Castle. For hundreds of years, the 9 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: ancient stone had been used in the coronation ceremonies of 10 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: Scottish kings, but in twelve ninety six, King Edward the 11 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: First of England removed the stone from Scottish soil and 12 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:02,640 Speaker 1: installed it in London's Way Stminster Abbey. It remained there 13 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:06,560 Speaker 1: for seven hundred years until November of nineteen ninety six, 14 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:10,559 Speaker 1: when British Prime Minister John Major made the shocking announcement 15 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:14,960 Speaker 1: that the stone would finally be returned. Many Scots had 16 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,400 Speaker 1: given up on ever seeing the Stone of Destiny returned 17 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: to its rightful place in Edinburgh Castle, but on St 18 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: Andrew's Day nine that's exactly what they saw. Full disclosure, 19 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:31,399 Speaker 1: though the stone had technically been returned to Scotland two 20 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:35,679 Speaker 1: weeks earlier, when it arrived at Holy Rude Palace. However, 21 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:40,040 Speaker 1: since that's the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland, 22 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: many consider the stones true return date to be the 23 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: day it traveled a mile up the road to Edinburgh Castle, 24 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: the traditional home of Scottish monarchs. Roughly ten thousand people 25 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: lining the streets of Royal Mile that day, hoping to 26 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:58,800 Speaker 1: catch a glimpse of the stone as it made its 27 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: way through old town Edinburgh in the back of a 28 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 1: land rover. By that point, the crowns of Scotland and 29 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: England had been combined for nearly four centuries. The return 30 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:13,119 Speaker 1: of such a revered cultural object was a goodwill gesture, 31 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:18,440 Speaker 1: long overdue, still better late than never. At this point 32 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,639 Speaker 1: you may be wondering what's so special about the Stone 33 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 1: of Destiny. Well, geologically speaking, not much. It's just a 34 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,280 Speaker 1: simple block of red sandstone, the kind you'd find all 35 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: over Perthshire and Angus, just a few miles from the 36 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: medieval town of Scone. It has a slightly pinkish hue 37 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:40,079 Speaker 1: in the right light, but for the most part it 38 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,880 Speaker 1: just looks like a slab of coarse gray stone. The 39 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:49,160 Speaker 1: oblong block measures about twenty six inches long, seventeen inches wide, 40 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: and ten and a half inches thick. It isn't ornately carved, 41 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,640 Speaker 1: but it does have a rough hewn rectangle and two 42 00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:59,720 Speaker 1: crosses cut into the top, the purpose and meaning of 43 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:03,920 Speaker 1: which shar unknown. The stone also features an iron handle 44 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 1: fitted to each end, a smart inclusion considering it weighs 45 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:11,920 Speaker 1: well over three hundred pounds. Although it's widely viewed as 46 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 1: a sacred object, little is known about how, when, or 47 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: why the stone was first made. According to one legend, 48 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:22,800 Speaker 1: it dates back to Biblical times and is actually the 49 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: same stone slab used by Jacob as a pillow when 50 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: he dreamed of a ladder reaching up toward heaven. Then, 51 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 1: according to Jewish legend, the stone became a pedestal of 52 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: the Ark of the Covenant. Sometime after that. It's supposedly 53 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 1: traveled from Syria to Egypt, and then on to Spain 54 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:44,160 Speaker 1: and eventually to Ireland, where it became known in Celtic 55 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: as Leah Fall or the Speaking Stone. The kings of 56 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: Ireland were allegedly crowned on top of the stone until 57 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: the late fifth century, when Fergus, the first king of 58 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: the Scots, captured the stone for his own country. How however, 59 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 1: the story according to science is much more straightforward than 60 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: that of legend. Modern geologists have confirmed the Stone of Destiny, 61 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: also known as the Stone of Scone, was quarried in 62 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: the vicinity of the town of Scone. That would make 63 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: sense as the town is home to the original royal 64 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:23,440 Speaker 1: residence and coronation site of the kingdom's earliest monarchs. So 65 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,360 Speaker 1: why lug a heavy stone all the way from Ireland 66 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 1: and beyond when you could dig up a perfectly good 67 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,920 Speaker 1: one in your own backyard. That said, there are some 68 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,039 Speaker 1: diehards out there who contend that the current stone, the 69 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 1: one that was definitively mined from Scone, is actually a fake, 70 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,200 Speaker 1: and that the real Stone of Destiny is hidden away 71 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,279 Speaker 1: out of the hands of fickle government officials. Whatever the 72 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:50,280 Speaker 1: stone's true origin, we know it played a key role 73 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:54,839 Speaker 1: in the coronation of Scottish monarchs. For many centuries. Inside 74 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 1: the Abbey of Scone, the newly appointed king would be 75 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:00,600 Speaker 1: crowned while sitting on the Stone of Destiny, as if 76 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: it were a chair. That custom is said to have 77 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 1: continued from the Dawn of the Nation all the way 78 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: until twelve ninety six, the year that marked the start 79 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: of the First Scottish War of Independence. Following his decisive 80 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,479 Speaker 1: victory at the Battle of Dunbar, England's King Edward the 81 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:20,760 Speaker 1: First seized the stone from Scone Abbey and claimed it 82 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,920 Speaker 1: as the spoils of war. Edward took the stone to 83 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,760 Speaker 1: Westminster Abbey in London and commissioned a new wooden throne 84 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,920 Speaker 1: later called the Coronation Chair to house it. Edward sat 85 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 1: on the chair above the stone until the end of 86 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: his reign in thirteen oh seven, at which point his 87 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:41,040 Speaker 1: son Edward the Second became the first English monarch to 88 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:45,160 Speaker 1: use it at their coronation. From then on, most Kings 89 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: and Queens of England and later of Great Britain have 90 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:52,080 Speaker 1: been crowned on that same chair in Westminster Abbey, the 91 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: one with a stolen stone fitted inside it. As you 92 00:05:56,279 --> 00:06:00,680 Speaker 1: might expect, Scottish nationalists made many efforts to secure the 93 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: stones return, some through legal channels and some by other methods. 94 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 1: The most famous attempt by far occurred on Christmas Day 95 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:15,480 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty in the early morning. For Glasgow University students 96 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:17,839 Speaker 1: managed to get the stone out of the abbey and 97 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:20,920 Speaker 1: into the trunk of a car headed north to Scotland. 98 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:25,479 Speaker 1: A nationwide man hunt ensued, but to no avail. The 99 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,919 Speaker 1: students made it home safely, despite the many roadblocks and 100 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: checkpoints set up to catch them. However, the same couldn't 101 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: be said for the stone, which had been badly damaged 102 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: when it was dislodged from the coronation chair. The stone 103 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: nappers eventually made good though. Four months later, in April 104 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:47,039 Speaker 1: of nineteen fifty one, the Stone of Destiny was discovered 105 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:50,280 Speaker 1: five hundred miles away from London at the high altar 106 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: of the ruined Arborth Abbey. It had been fully repaired 107 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:58,240 Speaker 1: and was discovered draped in the national flag of Scotland. 108 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:02,040 Speaker 1: No charges were brought against the students and the stone 109 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: was promptly returned to London, where it would remain for 110 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:08,839 Speaker 1: the next forty five years. When the Stone of Destiny 111 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 1: was finally returned to Scotland in November, it was under 112 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: much different circumstances. Scottish Secretary of State Michael Forsyth had 113 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 1: convinced the British government to allow the stone to remain 114 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:25,680 Speaker 1: in Scotland when not in use At coronations. On November 115 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:30,240 Speaker 1: Forsyth formally accepted the royal warrant for safe keeping of 116 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: the Stone of Destiny. The handover ceremony took place in 117 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 1: the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle, with Prince Andrew, the 118 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:41,760 Speaker 1: Duke of York representing the Queen. Soon after, the stone 119 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: was put on public display in Edinburgh Castle, right alongside 120 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:49,640 Speaker 1: the Crown Jewels and other priceless treasures. It's remained there 121 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:52,560 Speaker 1: ever since, with millions of people coming to see it 122 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:57,000 Speaker 1: each year. They'll have to look elsewhere starting in four though, 123 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 1: as First Minister Nicolas Sturgeon recently announced plans to relocate 124 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: the stone to Perth, which lies one mile south from 125 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: the medieval site of Scone. Before it's big move, though, 126 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:10,920 Speaker 1: the Stone of Destiny will have to make a pit 127 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 1: stop in London for the coronation of England's latest monarch, 128 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:19,160 Speaker 1: King Charles the Third. Queen Elizabeth the Second sat above 129 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: the Stone of Destiny herself when she was crowned in 130 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:25,920 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty three, and fifty years later her son is 131 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: poised to do the same. Of course, there's always the 132 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: chance that the actual Stone of Destiny is still secreted 133 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: away somewhere in Scotland. To this day, rumors persist that 134 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,680 Speaker 1: the real stone was taken out of circulation a long 135 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:46,360 Speaker 1: time ago, either by ancient monks or by renegade college students, 136 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:49,680 Speaker 1: depending on who you ask. But whether the Stone of 137 00:08:49,760 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: Destiny on display is the real deal or just a replica, 138 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: it remains a powerful symbol of Scottish independence, courage and stubbornness. 139 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:07,199 Speaker 1: Slan Schava, I'm Gabe Bluzier and hopefully you now know 140 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:11,320 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 141 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 1: If you enjoyed today's show, why not follow us on Twitter, 142 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 1: Facebook and Instagram at t D I h C Show. 143 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: You could also leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, 144 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:25,200 Speaker 1: or you could write to us directly at This Day 145 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:28,960 Speaker 1: at I heart media dot com. Heck, you could even 146 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,880 Speaker 1: do all of the above. Special thanks to Michael Douglas, 147 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 1: not the actor, for inspiring today's episode. I hope you 148 00:09:36,520 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 1: have a happy birthday this week, Michael, and safe travels 149 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:43,640 Speaker 1: to you and Julie on your next European adventure. Lastly, 150 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:47,440 Speaker 1: I have an important announcement to make. After a year 151 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 1: and three months of consecutive new episodes, This Day in 152 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,680 Speaker 1: History class is taking a break for the holidays, we'll 153 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,440 Speaker 1: be back with a season of brand new episode starting 154 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:01,839 Speaker 1: on January second. Three. In the meantime, you can get 155 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:05,079 Speaker 1: your daily history fixed by joining us for classic episodes 156 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:08,040 Speaker 1: throughout the month of December. You'll hear me and all 157 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:10,600 Speaker 1: the shows we made last year, but you'll also hear 158 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:14,720 Speaker 1: voices from the show's own history former hosts Tracy Wilson 159 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:17,880 Speaker 1: and Eve's Jeff Combe. I hope you enjoyed this trip 160 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: down memory lane, and be sure to join us on 161 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 1: January second for a new year's worth of all new episodes. 162 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:27,840 Speaker 1: Thanks as always to Chandler May's for producing the show, 163 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:30,560 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 164 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:34,040 Speaker 1: here again soon for another day in History Class.