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Underneath the late Queen Elizabeth II's coronation throne was a sacred stone that was stolen from Scottish kings. One Christmas night, a group of Glasgow students decided to steal it back.
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00:04How much do you know about the stone of destiny a little bit yeah do you know what your granddad
00:10did but the stone of destiny he stole it how long ago did he do that a long time a
00:18long time on June
00:25the second 1953 Elizabeth the second was crowned but there is something in this chapel that many
00:33argue shouldn't be there that's it there that's a sort of destiny yeah right there something that
00:40was not only stolen it was stolen back in one of the most outrageous heists in history a heist
00:47that shows the United Kingdom hasn't always been so united
00:55in the days of the British Empire things were taken they usually ended up in museums and galleries
01:02with polite plaques my name is Mark Fennell and this is the not so polite story of how they really
01:09got
01:10there so is it scone palace or skoon palace it's skoon and but I wouldn't be worried that you might
01:32have
01:32said scone to start with I think that's a common mistake by people visiting for the first time see
01:37if I say skoon I feel like I'm doing a bad impression no no skoon is it sounds good does
01:41that good yeah
01:42sounds fine you've given me permission and it's okay for me to call it skoon yeah yeah yeah white lost
01:48yeah totally lost no idea in Scotland these are the gardens of skoon palace there I said it it's a
01:57place
01:57with ancient royal connections so this is the same land that Kings have walked on yes I don't suspect
02:03they got lost in the maze while they were doing it there probably not as lost as us anyway doctor
02:09Lucy Dean teaches medieval and early modern history particularly the history of Scotland I've always
02:16had a fascination with Scotland that often is sort of misunderstood as being just part of the UK
02:25rather than being a kingdom in its own right yes these days the United Kingdom is England Wales
02:31Northern Ireland and of course Scotland but they used to be quite separate so tell me why does this
02:40place matter to Scottish history this land that we're on scone is incredibly important because it
02:47was important to Scottish identity and the Scottish ceremony of king making in the medieval period the
02:5413th century and earlier Scotland had its own king so there was a king of England and there was a
02:59king
02:59of Scotland so they were two separate kingdoms and to become the king of Scotland you needed a certain
03:07legendary stone for years each king would sit on the stone during their ascension to power but in
03:151286 crisis Scottish king Alexander the third dies without a clear air and so Scottish nobles turn to
03:23the king of England Edward the first to select a ruler Edward picks a man who he assumes will do
03:30his
03:30bidding as the Scottish leader John Balliol this situation does not go well Edward ends up invading
03:37Scotland and Balliol he actually captures him personally and takes him prisoner and he also removes key elements of what
03:46made the Scottish king
03:47key elements including the stone of scone or as it's sometimes known the stone of destiny
03:56so in 1296 the stone is removed from Scotland and I think by taking away those items it's stripping
04:04that country of its identity its means of making a ruler into a ruler but it seems the English didn't
04:12just take Scotland's precious stone they also built something around it so this is what I was looking for ah
04:20it's a stone in a throne it is indeed a stone in a throne how does it get there well
04:26this throne was
04:26designed for this stone when it was stolen by Edward the first symbolically even just looking at it if
04:33you think that that's supposed to be one of the symbols of Scottish kingship and it's your throne as
04:37the king of England if you sit on that in your coronation it's essentially you sitting on the Scots and
04:44being in control of the Scots so if you're thinking about like sort of the power dynamics that Edward's
04:50trying to communicate with where he puts the stone he is king of that land because he's able to sit
04:56on
04:56that throne so they literally build a throne around a stone yeah to symbolize that dominance yeah to
05:02symbolize dominance so there's just one problem with that particular stone in that particular throne
05:08isn't there yeah that's not the real stone it's a replica and the stone is no longer in scone
05:13no the real stone of destiny spent centuries here in the heart of London this is Westminster Abbey where
05:20kings and queens of England right up to Elizabeth II have well they've sat on Scotland's most potent
05:28symbol and back in Scotland it is surprising how England's removal of the stone over 700 years ago
05:39for some at least it still stinks as a tour guide I take people to go around and it's interesting
05:46watching these cues of people to go up to see the royal regalia and everyone's looking oh look at the
05:51pretty jewels and the sword of the crown other and it's interesting to watch these people going past
05:56they don't realize the stone that's the valuable thing tell me you can make a new crown yeah you can
06:03make a new sword distort it's the thing that matters Bruce Foomey is a former physics teacher who is
06:09now a stand-up comedian and a historical tour guide why is it important to you that Scottish history is
06:16recorded and shared like why does that matter to you because it's part of your identity and as a mixed
06:22race
06:22guide you know it's a Guinean Scottish guy okay but I'm a hundred percent culturally Scottish I was born
06:29here I grew up here I'm Scottish and maybe that's part of it everyone wants to know where they come
06:34from people have got that deep-rooted need to know where they're from where their history is and how that
06:43makes them do you know I mean I think it's part of the human condition over the decades many Scots
06:48have
06:49argued for the return of the stone from London the thing I find curious about the story is that it
06:55has persisted for so long it's sort of potency yeah it's lasted so long and I'm trying to wrap my
07:00head
07:00around why it's an interesting question and it's also why has the sense of Scottishness persisted when
07:10the British state has done everything it can to wipe out the sense of Scottishness right why is it that
07:20that persists we're talking 700 years later and loads of things have happened but that's that sense of
07:26grievance do you know what I mean yeah that I think has kept it the fact you know it's in
07:31London under their
07:32throne right whereas it should be here and I think that sense of grieving makes it persist but that's
07:40the point is there's been the undercurrent all the time you know I mean there's been people have kept
07:46alive this idea of Scotland being its own place and being you know a nation in and of itself but
07:58here in
07:58this city Glasgow back in 1950 in an effort to keep that idea of an independent Scotland alive four
08:04university students hatched a wild plan to steal Scotland's stone of destiny back from England Ian
08:12Hamilton Kay Matheson Alan Stewart and Gavin Vernon I'm told this is where it all began
08:24hi hi hi there it's nice to finally nice to meet you how are you nice to meet you Emma
08:30and Nico are
08:31modern-day students here at Glasgow University and the theft of the stone of destiny is part of the
08:36mythology here and it's obsessed students just like these guys ever since the conspirators were
08:41students here that they cooked up the plan to reclaim the stone yeah that's kind of where it all
08:45starts from right so it's right here so it's probably actually hatched at a pub around the
08:49corner but while there were students here they came up with the idea that they needed some kind of
08:55symbol some Scottish identity symbol and ended up settling on the stone and then they came up with
08:59a plan together but after seven centuries of the stone being away in England why did it come to a
09:06head then
09:07so obviously it's in the post-war era and you know the whole of the UK is trying to recover
09:12along with
09:13Scotland I mean here in Glasgow a lot was destroyed in the Blitz so there was a lot of recovery
09:19going
09:19on the levels of poverty that used to be in the past were really really high and Glasgow itself was
09:25really neglected in some places I think back then Scotland was in all essence another county of England
09:33Scotland and I think to people that were pro-Scottish independence at that point it would probably
09:37be quite a scary thing to see your national identity eroded over time just because of it and I think
09:42that that probably contributed towards going going for the plan where does the idea for the heist
09:48actually begin like where does that start the students they were looking to progress Scottish
09:53independence forward and progress Scotland forward itself and because the stone was such a symbol
09:59you know because of the history of it they thought well what's a better symbols show Scotland than the
10:05stone so the students set their sights on Westminster Abbey where the stone was held in the throne so the
10:14plan as I understand it was on Christmas Day when everyone was celebrating Christmas to sneak into the
10:20Abbey at night and remove the stone and managed to get it back up to Scotland at some point
10:28before they went down to London I think they tried to figure out the floor plan to make it you
10:32know the
10:32quickest and a new operation that they could and I think they've tried to you know scope out where
10:37there was a security guards going around you know what time things close obviously need a bit of planning
10:42you can't just go in and take it really no you definitely can't so I did the tourist tour you're
10:52allowed to
10:52take photos I've got Ian's instructions of what he did and I've kind of mapped it out from being
10:58honest with you I kind of had questions as to how this whole thing went down so to figure it
11:07out I got
11:08creative I present to you my Westminster Abbey this is what I get up to in my spare time I
11:20took the
11:21instructions that the students recorded went to Westminster Abbey and I've mapped out the pathway
11:26they took on that one Christmas day I'll be honest with you I don't understand how they did it now
11:33when it comes to the actual stone itself turns out very hard to find ancient Scottish stones so I have
11:38sort of a workaround when you cannot find 330 pounds or 152 kilograms of Scottish stone what's the next
11:53best Scottish thing you can find a barrel of scotch this is about the weight of what they dragged you've
12:01been following the story for a long time would you care to try and recreate it yeah let's try it
12:06yeah
12:06wait wait before we do it turns out they didn't just drag it along the floor they had a coat
12:13I went shopping
12:16so we lift it up yeah yeah all right should we drag it I guess that's how they would have
12:24done it
12:25right yeah yeah okay definitely broke something this thing's gonna fall on me isn't it hold on how do they
12:40not like wake up every security guard it's a proper racket must have done damage to the ground surely yeah
12:49muster I think it's about know that like a police officer was coming by or something yeah and the
12:54group got split up because I didn't distract the policeman yeah yeah this is actual debacle isn't
12:59it yes yeah didn't quite go to plan I don't think sadly I don't have a fake police officer for
13:04this
13:04recreation all those in favor of just rolling it say aye yeah is this cheating just a little bit
13:21when you look at the real heist it seems like anything that could go wrong did even getting
13:27into the Abbey in the first place so Ian goes into Westminster Abbey during the day and hides away
13:34at night and then gets caught and gets turfed out they have to then find a way of getting back
13:40into
13:40the Abbey without being caught so the plan involved two cars after dark the students burst through one
13:46of the side doors and sneak towards the throne they hoist the heavy stone out of the throne and begin
13:52dragging it towards the exit but they couldn't lift it because it was so heavy and then that's
13:58when it got broken I don't think they realized you know how heavy it was that's right the precious
14:04stone breaks in two but the thieves are undeterred and now the most dangerous part get the stone out
14:12of the Abbey and into the street this is the bit where that policeman shows up the group is scrambling
14:19Ian had ran out to the car with Kay because the policeman was coming in the street and the two
14:23of them had driven off to get away from the policeman this left the other two in the Abbey that
14:28had to go
14:28and get the other car and when they got to that car they realized that the keys were still in
14:32Ian's
14:33jacket back in the Abbey yep that jacket had the car keys somehow the separated thieves miraculously
14:41find each other in the panic and it's by complete chance that they happen to cross over each other
14:46while this chaos was ensuing how on earth did they get out of London a minor miracle I think honestly
14:52yeah every step of the plan went wrong and they still managed it a Christmas Day sensation at
14:58Westminster Abbey the stone of destiny was stolen from the coronation chair so they steal the stone and of
15:06course the establishment goes crazy and they're out looking for them and it's a Manhattan you know
15:11and they can't find these people can you imagine you know that you're the guy with the stone and it's
15:17on the telly every night and you know you'd be sitting shooting yourself wouldn't you like you know
15:21they're even to think about doing it in the first place it's quite a brave do you know I mean
15:26because the punishment could have been severe as soon as the authorities realized the stone was stolen
15:36they actually shut the border between Scotland and England it's the first time they've done it in 400
15:40years but the students knew that the border was being watched they did something really clever
15:44instead of going north to Scotland they went south a little bit outside of London and in an open field
15:50they literally hid the stone where anybody could find it honestly I don't know what they were thinking
15:57and really right now there's only one person alive that does
16:30hello how are you hi Mark nice to meet you it's nice to meet you too come out of your
16:34father thank you
16:39this is the last remaining student from that heist indeed the architect of the whole theft 96 year old
16:46Ian Hamilton and his son Jamie when did you first get the idea to take the stone way back when
16:55I was
16:56a school boy I heard about this and somebody told me it was the token stone for the Scottish people
17:03and I immediately thought what the fuck's it doing in England we went to Westminster Abbey and I tried to
17:10retrace the steps of what you did and it's really I'm in awe like it was really heavy I don't
17:15know
17:16how you did it I really don't well it was the coronation chair perched away in our corner yeah
17:23they've moved it they moved it down by the uh but down by the gift shop okay yeah yeah I
17:28think that's
17:30one of the great achievements of my life what did they moved it because of you yes yes of course
17:39they
17:40they did they'd get fat they would get fed up with people saying well this is on when you were
17:47growing
17:47up were people proud to be Scottish here I'm not sure they were it was uh no the answer to
17:54that is no
17:55they need to shake and awakening why did they need a shake why what was what was because they were
18:00pretty
18:01well amalgamated with the English who are after all our hereditary enemies not that I hold them as
18:09enemies but I do hold them as very different people as soon as the authorities realized the stone was
18:17missing you see two very different reactions one in Scotland and one in England the Dean of
18:23Westminster called the disappearance an act of sacrilege just round the corner at Scotland Yard
18:28a nationwide search was organized they start off with the threats like okay you're gonna be in big
18:35trouble my lad right if you don't give yourself up it's gonna we're gonna throw the book at you
18:40but they can't find these people I think especially in England and London it was something that was
18:46unthinkable that it happened the whole thing was a huge smack in the face I think to certain people
18:52in power yeah definitely but I think in Scotland the reaction was quite different than what it was
18:59down south yeah I think there's quite a lot of excitement and a lot of happiness around it and
19:04I think it did help for a lot of people rekindle a sense of Scottishness separate from Britishness yes
19:10absolutely absolutely I've never seen anything like it since they were cheering on the street
19:17shaking hands of strangers it was momentous symbols like the stone they're about identity they're about
19:26a shared understanding of the past being part of a community because of the symbols that hold you
19:32together and about demonstrating Scotland's independence as a kingdom it's about being able to lay claim to
19:39that and and demonstrate that just because it ended up in a union with another country doesn't mean that
19:45it's separate existence should be forgotten about when you took the stone you gave them that feeling you
19:51gave a whole sense of joy to Scotland that's an impressive legacy yes that's so that's what we did
19:58that's we we did I think it would be true to see it became a different country after that you
20:06kind of
20:06think well authorities authority but actually when somebody's done something like that you think
20:10well actually you can question authority you realize you can make a difference and you can defy
20:16authority authorities actually doesn't have much meaning unless you believe in it while those English
20:23authorities were furious Ian and the other thieves laid low until things calmed down they then
20:28retrieved the stone from that field they drove it north back home so the two separate pieces back up to
20:35Scotland and got stonemason to see them back together again and then when the stone was brought back
20:39together fully they took it to the Abbey Arbroath and turned the stone then to the authorities in the
20:46ruins of Arbroath Abbey there ended a mystery that has lasted since Christmas Day for here was found the
20:52stone of destiny it was taken away by the police and this Friday afternoon the stone is on its way
20:58to London
21:00did you ever get in trouble when you return the stone they never prosecuted you after they didn't
21:07prosecute you why not there would have been a rebellion in Scotland if they had England was different we
21:17were called in the house of commons to my great glee these vulgar vandals he's a son of a big
21:26bear
21:30for years rumors have spread that the stone that Ian left for the English was actually a fake and the
21:36real one well it's somewhere here in Scotland it's nice to be able to touch this so the story is
21:46this
21:46is the real stone of course it is of course naturally I mean it's a ridiculous story you are gonna
21:52get
21:52kicked out oh yeah I'm sure it's the real one these are the kind of debates that go on all
22:00the time isn't
22:00it but four decades after he surrendered the stone to go back to London 1996 Ian got his wish the
22:10stone
22:10was returned to Scotland to Edinburgh Castle where it's lived ever since the story of the stone has
22:26really never been about the stone at least not for years it's a symbol and it always has been of
22:31power
22:32of pride and above all things it's a symbol of loss the initial taking of the stone from Scotland
22:41down to England do you regard that as theft yeah okay yeah I mean it's no point of it I
22:48think was for
22:49Edward to show his overlordship over Scotland and English supremacy over Scotland they were stolen
22:58yeah soon King Charles the third will have his coronation should he do it on the stone oh um that
23:08is that is a bit of a debate um oh that's a messy old I'll be honest that's why yeah
23:16I listen sit back
23:17here and what you do deal with that yeah I think it would be great to see Charles crowned on
23:21the stone
23:22partly because of the the debate it will create to actually get the stone down to Westminster and
23:28whether it should or shouldn't go and how it goes so I think that would be an interesting debate yeah
23:33whatever happens next with the British monarchy the theft and I guess you could call it re theft of the
23:39stone somehow is still driving new generations of Scots if you met Ian what is the number one thing you'd
23:47like to know from him if I met him I'd wanted it's not so much what I'd want to learn
23:51from but I'd want
23:52to say you know thank you for for what he'd done um for the whole movement as a whole but
23:57how much
23:58reach it had for driving people towards Scottish independence it definitely was one of the major
24:04contributing factors that saved the Scottish identity from being eroded fully I think also like we feel we're
24:09the successors to these people and we feel like oh we have this legacy to carry on as well what
24:18do you
24:18hope for Scotland there's been calls for independence there's been referendums what do you hope happens
24:24next with Scotland Ian that's not for me that's a question I can't answer I'm 96 years old or several
24:34generations beyond me who have got to face up to that it's theirs the people of Scotland personally
24:46I'd love to see an independent Scotland obviously very soon additionally it's to me independence as a
24:54means to an end and that end being you know a fairer more open Scotland for everyone it's not you
25:01know
25:01Scottish for the Scots it's about making a better Scotland for everyone that lives here and anyone
25:06that wants to be Scottish and lives in Scotland being Scottish you know it's as simple as that
25:11we're not crazy right-wingers we just want Scotland to be a better place is all for everyone here we
25:17just have to keep pushing for it and soon I think it will happen haven't stolen a single giant lump
25:24of
25:24rock yet though I mean no the night is young you know there's still things that can happen but
25:33there is one last twist Ian's son Jamie has something he wants to show me this is a small bit
25:41of the
25:42stone of destiny which broke off when the stone of destiny was removed from Westminster Abbey and my
25:48father had to the presence of mind to to trouser it and I got it set in a brooch and
25:55gave the brooch to
25:57my my mother I guess it's a love token it says she left from Ian with best wishes for the
26:04years of
26:04wisdom and it says the 8th of July 1951 the 8th of July is my mother's birthday and that would
26:09have
26:09been our 21st birthday I can't really own something like this but it's been handed over for safekeeping
26:16um you know and it will go on to uh subsequent generations and the fact that you have a literal
26:24piece of that story in your hands that story that goes back generations and centuries how do you feel
26:30about that it's exciting isn't it really to think that you know the people who removed that had their
26:36hands perhaps on that very piece of stone there are you going to pass that on to Felix
26:45one day undoubtedly yeah that will go to to my son yeah what sort of Scotland do you want for
26:52Felix
26:58I would love Felix to be raised in a country which is ethically diverse open friendly free of course
27:07and I would hope that would remain for the future for uh for generations to come
27:18what makes Scottish people special being Scots for fuck's sake
27:24you
27:25you
27:25you
27:25you
27:25you
27:35you
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