The story of the Honours of Scotland - our Crown Jewels

THE Honours of Scotland, also known as the Scottish Crown Jewels, are back on public display again as Edinburgh Castle has opened its doors to visitors after the latest easing of lockdown restrictions.

It has been a low-key return for the Castle, and visitors still have to pre-book to get in, but once there the Castle has much to offer, not least of which are the Stone of Destiny – until it is moved to its new home in Perth – and the Honours of Scotland.

I suspect many Scots will be only vaguely aware that we have our own set of Crown Jewels which are considerably different from the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London because they are much older and, in my far from humble opinion, much more beautiful than those in London.

DESCRIBE THE HONOURS?

IT is well worth the visit to Edinburgh Castle to see the Honours, not least because they are things of great beauty and antiquity, the oldest regalia in Britain and among the oldest still-surviving Crown Jewels in the world. They are not the original Crown Jewels of Scotland – they were stolen by King Edward I in 1296 and never recovered.

They are still ancient, however. The Sceptre is the oldest Honour. Tradition has it that the silver-gilt sceptre was a gift in 1494 from the Borgia Pope Alexander VI to King James IV, as a mark of papal support for Scotland as a “special daughter” of the Holy See.

Remodelled and lengthened in France in 1536, the 39-inch long Sceptre features small figures of the Virgin and Child, St James and St Andrew within Gothic canopies, flanked by stylised dolphins (symbolic of Christ’s Church). The sceptre is topped by a polished globe of rock crystal.

The crown was made for James V, who first wore it at the coronation of Queen Mary of Guise in 1540. Two circlets of gold, one of which is held by tradition to date to the time of Robert the Bruce, form the base of the Crown which is encrusted with jewels and has a red velvet cap into which are set four huge pearls, topped by a bejewelled cross.

The Sword of State was certainly a gift from Pope Julius II to King James IV as its rich decoration, reminiscent of the work of Benvenuto Cellini, contains the Pope’s emblem. As we shall see, the inscribed blade was once broken…

James and Mary of Guise’s daughter Mary Queen of Scots was the first to be crowned using the new crown and sceptre together, in 1543, and the Honours featured in the crowning of every Scottish monarch between Mary and Charles II.

WERE THEY EVER STOLEN?

JUST like the English Crown Jewels which Colonel Thomas Blood almost managed to steal in 1671, no one has ever actually stolen Scotland’s Honours.

One powerful Englishman almost succeeded, however, and it was none other than Oliver Cromwell. Having conquered Scotland after the Battle of Dunbar in 1650, Cromwell set about imposing the Union of Scotland and England under his Commonwealth, or rather, dictatorship. The “Tender of Union” was proclaimed in Edinburgh on February 4, 1652, and from then on Cromwell was the de facto ruler of Scotland.

He put Scotland under the military and political command of General George Monck and at Cromwell’s direction, Scottish institutions such as the Parliament, the courts and the Scottish monarchy were suspended, despite Charles II having been crowned King at Scone – and yes, Charles used the Honours. Cromwell also ordered the transfer of Scottish historical documents to London, many of which were lost, and ordered the seizure of the Honours.

He was serious about locating and destroying them, as Cromwell destroyed the English Crown Jewels, which is why the Jewels in the Tower are mainly replicas made after the Restoration of the Monarchy under Charles II, whereas the Honours of Scotland are the originals.

HOW WERE THEY PRESERVED?

REALISING the rapaciousness of Cromwell and his men, the Estates of Parliament sent them north to the safekeeping of the Earl Marischal at Dunottar Castle near Stonehaven. Thought to be impregnable, the castle was besieged by land and sea, and eventually a daring plan was hatched to remove the Honours.

Christian Fletcher, wife of the Reverend James Granger, minister of Kinneff, a small parish church near Dunottar, and her maid smuggled them out in baskets of linen, the sword blade being broken in half to enable the transportation. They remained under the stone floor of Kinneff church up to the Restoration and were then stuck in wooden chest in Edinburgh Castle and quietly forgotten about after the Act of Union.

Mrs Granger was awarded 2000 merks by the Scottish Parliament for her bravery. Her minister husband, who may have been tortured by Cromwell’s soldiers, died and she re-married becoming Lady Abercrombie.

In 1818, Sir Walter Scott led a commission to find the missing Honours and they famously did so deep in Edinburgh Castle where they are now once again on view.

Other jewels feature alongside the Honours. They include the four Stewart Jewels, a locket, a Great George and collar, and a ruby ring which King James VII and II took with him in to exile when William III and Mary II usurped his throne.

DO THEY EVER GET USED?

OBVIOUSLY not for crowning monarchs of Scotland, but who knows what might happen in the future? They are also present at each opening of the Scottish Parliament.