The Honours of Scotland — the Crown, Sceptre, and Sword of State — are the oldest surviving crown jewels in Britain. They predate the English Crown Jewels by over a century, having survived the upheaval of the English Civil War, Cromwell's attempts to melt them down, and the long years of concealment that followed. Their survival is a story of courage, ingenuity, and the fierce Scottish determination to preserve the symbols of national sovereignty. The castles that held them — and the people who hid them — are at the heart of that story.
What are the Honours of Scotland?
The Honours of Scotland consist of three objects: the Crown, which dates in its current form to 1540 and incorporates gold and gems from earlier Scottish regalia; the Sceptre, given to James IV by Pope Alexander VI in 1494; and the Sword of State, presented by Pope Julius II to James IV in 1507. Together, they represent the continuity of the Scottish monarchy from the late fifteenth century to the present day. A fourth object, the Stone of Destiny (or Stone of Scone), is also considered part of the Scottish regalia and has its own remarkable history of removal, return, and symbolism.
Edinburgh Castle — where they rest today
The Honours of Scotland are displayed today in Edinburgh Castle, where they have been housed since their rediscovery in 1818. Following the Union of Parliaments in 1707, the Honours were locked in a chest in the Crown Room of Edinburgh Castle and were not seen for over a century — so completely forgotten that their location became uncertain. Sir Walter Scott organised a search, and the chest was opened in February 1818 to reveal the Honours intact. The rediscovery was a moment of genuine national emotion, and the Honours have been on public display in Edinburgh ever since. Our Edinburgh Castle history guide covers the castle's full royal history.
Dunnottar Castle — the great concealment of 1652
The most dramatic chapter in the history of the Honours of Scotland took place at Dunnottar Castle in Kincardineshire in 1651–52. When Cromwell's army invaded Scotland following Charles II's defeat at Worcester, the Honours were taken to Dunnottar — the virtually impregnable clifftop fortress held by the Keith family for the royalist cause — for safekeeping. The castle was besieged by English Parliamentary forces, and the question of how to save the Honours from capture became urgent. According to tradition, they were smuggled out of the castle by a minister's wife, Christian Fletcher, and a serving woman, who carried them in bundles of flax and concealed them beneath the floorboards of a nearby church at Kinneff. The Honours remained hidden for eight years until the restoration of Charles II in 1660. Dunnottar Castle and the Keith family who held it — Clan Keith — are permanently associated with this act of national preservation.
Stirling Castle — coronation and custody
Stirling was the site of two of the most important coronations in Scottish history involving the Honours: that of Mary Queen of Scots at Stirling Castle in 1543 and that of her son James VI at the Church of the Holy Rude in 1567, after her forced abdication. The Honours were present at both occasions, and Stirling — as the principal royal fortress of the Stewart kings — held them on multiple occasions during the turbulent sixteenth century. Our Stirling Castle history guide covers the castle's role as the administrative and ceremonial heart of the Stewart monarchy.
The Stone of Destiny and its journeys
The Stone of Destiny — the ancient coronation stone on which Scottish kings were crowned — has a history even more dramatic than the Honours themselves. Taken to Westminster by Edward I of England in 1296, it remained there for seven hundred years until its return to Scotland in 1996. It was briefly "repatriated" in 1950 by a group of Scottish students who removed it from Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day — an act of cultural nationalism that captivated Scotland for months. The Stone is now displayed at Perth Museum, which opened in March 2024. A replica is kept at Scone Palace in Perthshire, near the site of the original coronations.
Kinneff Church — the hiding place
Kinneff Church in Kincardineshire, a small parish church a few miles from Dunnottar, is where the Honours of Scotland were actually hidden during the Cromwellian occupation — buried under the church floor by the minister James Grainger and his wife Christian Fletcher, who worked with Anne Lindsay to carry them out of Dunnottar. The church still stands, and a memorial marks the hiding place of the Honours. It is one of the most historically significant small buildings in Scotland, a place where the symbols of Scottish nationhood were concealed against the efforts of an occupying power.
The Article of Union and the preservation of the Honours
When Scotland and England united in 1707, a specific article of the Treaty of Union guaranteed that the Honours of Scotland would remain in Scotland permanently — they were not to be taken to England. This provision reflected the importance Scots placed on the physical symbols of their sovereignty, even at the moment of political union. The Honours remained in Edinburgh Castle, locked away but preserved, until their rediscovery in 1818. The article's existence is a reminder that the union was negotiated, not simply imposed — and that Scottish identity, even within the union, was considered worth protecting in concrete terms.
Clan Keith — guardians of the Honours
The hereditary office of Lord High Marischal of Scotland — responsible for the custody of the Honours and the safety of the Scottish monarch at state occasions — was held by the Keith family, Earls Marischal, from the medieval period until the attainder of the tenth Earl following his involvement in the Jacobite rising of 1715. Clan Keith's role in preserving the Honours during the Dunnottar siege is therefore not incidental — it was the fulfilment of their hereditary duty, performed at considerable personal and military risk.
Visiting the Honours of Scotland today
The Honours of Scotland are on permanent display in the Crown Room of Edinburgh Castle, one of the most visited rooms in Scotland. The display includes the Crown, Sceptre, and Sword of State. The Stone of Destiny is displayed at Perth Museum. The queue for the Crown Room can be long in summer, but the experience of seeing these objects — knowing their story, knowing where they have been and what it cost to preserve them — is genuinely moving. For anyone with Scottish ancestry, the Honours are a reminder of what has been worth fighting to preserve across seven centuries.
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