New research has uncovered the existence and fate of various fragments of the Stone of Destiny. Among them is one that belonged to late former First Minister Alex Salmond.
The Stone of Destiny is a block of red sandstone that is considered to be an ancient symbol of the Scottish monarchy. The artefact was used in the inauguration of Scottish kings from 1249.
It was seized by Edward I of England, the Longshanks, in 1296 and gifted to the Shrine of St Edward the Confessor at Westminster Abbey.
The Stone split in two along a historic crack in 1950 after it was dropped when a group of Scottish students removed it from Westminster Abbey — intending to return it to Scotland.
Many fragments were created during a crude repair overseen by sculptor Robert Gray, shortly before the artefact was left for the authorities to collect at Arbroath Abbey in 1951.
Gray numbered 34 fragments and gifted these and further unnumbered fragments to family members, politicians, and journalists. Fragments have been handed down by families and friends as treasured heirlooms.
Professor Sally Foster of the University of Stirling’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities has discovered the existence of this body of fragments.
Only one was officially recognised when she began her research, which involved a rigorous study that has transformed the understanding of the Stone of Destiny’s history.
Professor Foster’s work to uncover the stories of the fragments involved newspaper and archival research, interviews with collection curators and institutional experts, and more. The lives of several fragments have been traced, some of which were gifted to SNP politicians — including Alex Salmond and former MPs Winnie Ewing and Margo MacDonald.
Professor Foster commented: “This is not just any stone. When Scottish nationalists manhandled it out of the Coronation Chair and secreted it away from London’s Westminster Abbey on Christmas morning 1950, this caused the English-Scottish border to be closed for the first time in 400 years, because, since the fourteenth century, nearly all English, later British monarchs, sat over the Stone during their coronation, in an act that symbolised the subjugation of the Scots.
“The use of the Stone in the recent coronation of King Charles and the Stone’s move to a permanent home in the acclaimed Perth Museum has stimulated new historical and scientific studies, however the existence and significance of a diverse, dispersed body of small fragments of the Stone has been overlooked.
“Since my findings started to emerge, many members of the public have contacted me with their family’s knowledge of credible Stone fragments, often accompanied by supporting evidence — but there are many gaps yet to fill.”
The theft of the Stone, as well as its accidental damage, did not lead to criminal prosecutions as it was decided that it was not in the public interest. The authorities have also not sought to prosecute those known to be in possession of fragments.
The holder of one and an accompanying letter that came to public attention in 2018 was not prosecuted. Meanwhile, nobody associated with the fragment that was ultimately donated to Alex Salmond has been prosecuted.
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, the Conservative Secretary of State for Scotland who brought the Stone back to Scotland in 1996, previously stated that the fragment gifted to Salmond was “stolen property”. He claimed it was “obtained as a result of a criminal act”.
Robert Gray was the right-hand man of John MacCormick, who led the National Covenant movement that sought home rule for Scotland in the 1950s. MacCormick’s son gifted his mother’s fragment to Alex Salmond in 2008 and it was subsequently displayed at SNP headquarters.
Professor Foster added: “With the likely perception of the fragments as being stolen property, few people opted to brazenly flaunt and taunt with their possession, except for some politicians.
“Families cared for them, emotionally and physically, and we can also trace the progression of fragments to valued heirlooms.”
