The Fifth Elephant

3

The Stone of Scone, aka The Stone of Destiny, aka Jacob’s Pillow or Pillar, is the coronation stone that Scottish kings were crowned on. The stone was moved to England by Edward I after he defeated the Scots in 1296, and has since then been part of the English monarchy’s coronation chair (except for the 4 months after Christmas Day 1950, when the Stone was stolen by Scots Nationalists before being recovered at Arbroath Abbey on April 11, 1951).

Currently, the Stone (although rumours of it being a fake one abound) is “on loan” to Scotland, and can be seen in Edinburgh Castle.