Scone of Destiny

Scone Palace (current version, c. 1802, but very, very

impressive inside, especially gifts from Marie Antoinette

(one of the earlier earls was ambassador to France),

paintings, royal mementoes; as usual, no pix

Vicki on the (replica) Stone of Destiny, aka

Stone of Scone

A scone, destined to be devoured by me

The Stone of Destiny is the stone, located in Scone, upon which Scottish kings were coronated, that is, until 1296, when Edward I conquered Scotland and took the Stone back to Westerminster Abbey, where it lay for the next 700 years and upon which sat all the British kings and queens since. In 1997, HM the Queen returned it to the Scots, and we saw it along with the other Scottish relics and crown jewels at Edinburgh Castle. Given its original location in Scone, we visited the castle/palace there, and learned more about the Stone, Scone, Macbeth, and much more. Most interestingly, it is now believed, by some, that the stone Edward carted off was a fake (the Scots knew he was coming and his intentions), and that the real Stone of Scone still lies hidden on the estate. The stone at Edinburgh is simply the the same kind of rock quarried in the area for the castle and the abbey. Contemporaneous descriptions of the Stone of Scone suggest a very different kind of mineral, etc.  Oh, and Macbeth, it turns out, did not kill Duncan, had a legitimate claim to the throne, and was regarded pretty well during his 17-year reign. FWIW. And, the locals pronounce scone "scoon." FWIW.