Scots ‘should refuse to send Stone of Scone’
Former First Minister calls for protest move at royal ceremony in May after independence vote snub
Scotland should refuse to send the Stone of Scone to the Coronation of the King in protest at being denied an independence referendum, Alex Salmond has said. The former first minister said the historic symbol that the monarchs of Scotland were once crowned upon was “property” that had been stolen seven centuries ago and should not “meekly” be given back. Mr Salmond told Sky News that whoever replaces Nicola Sturgeon should refuse to let it return to London.
SCOTLAND should refuse to send the Stone of Scone to the Coronation of the King in protest at being denied an independence referendum, Alex Salmond has said.
The former First Minister, who had previously cultivated an image as a royalist, said the historic symbol which the monarchs of Scotland were once crowned upon was “property” that had been stolen seven centuries ago and should not “meekly” be given back.
It had been located in Edinburgh Castle since it was returned to Scotland permanently in the 1990s, but is set to temporarily be sent south so that tradition can be followed at the Coronation.
Mr Salmond, in an interview with Sky News, called for whoever replaces Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister to refuse to allow it to go back to London.
The ancient stone was seized by Edward I, known as the Hammer of the Scots, in an English invasion in 1296 and taken to the capital.
It was built into a new throne at Westminster and came to be seen as a sign of English domination of Scotland.
While he admitted that it was “not my most serious policy that I’m putting forward,” the Alba Party leader said he nevertheless believes the Scottish Government should take a stand.
The stone was famously stolen and taken over the border by Scottish nationalist students in 1950, but was later recovered before being returned to Scotland permanently in 1996 by John Major’s government, in what was seen as a political move aimed at dampening Scottish nationalism and support for devolution.
It comes as Buckingham Palace announced that a new batch of coronation oil has been made using olives harvested from groves on the Mount of Olives, the burial place of the King’s paternal grandmother, Princess Alice of Greece.
The olives were pressed just outside Bethlehem and the oil, which will be used to anoint both the King and the Queen Consort at Westminster Abbey on May 6, was consecrated in Jerusalem yesterday.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, who will conduct the coronation ceremony, revealed that it was his idea to use oil from Jerusalem to reflect the King’s “personal family connection with the Holy Land and his great care for its peoples.”
The formula was based on the same ancient recipe used to create the oil used at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and her many predecessors dating to Charles I in 1626.
But in a break with tradition, it does not include any of the controversial animal products traditionally used, such as civet oil and ambergris, popularly known as whale’s vomit.
It was perfumed with essential oils – sesame, rose, jasmine, cinnamon, neroli, benzoin and amber – as well as orange blossom.
The Chrism oil was created using olives harvested from two groves on the Mount of Olives, at the Monastery of Mary Magdalene and the Monastery of the Ascension.
Princess Alice of Battenberg, the late Duke of Edinburgh’s mother who became an Orthodox nun, is buried below a Russian Orthodox church on the Mount of Olives. The King made a pilgrimage to his grandmother’s tomb in January 2020, paying tribute to the “selfless actions” of the Princess, known for saving a Jewish family from the Nazis during the Holocaust while living in occupied Greece. She died when Charles was 20.
The decision to source the coronation oil in Jerusalem marks a notable shift from tradition. Family-owned pharmacy Squire & Sons has made the anointing oil since Queen Victoria.
‘This is not the most serious policy I’m putting forward [but government should take a stand]’