The Honours of Scotland

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Honours of Scotland: Credit – Historic Environment Scotland Facebook Page

On July 5, 2023, King Charles III was presented with the Honours of Scotland during a National Service of Thanksgiving at St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Honours of Scotland, also known as the Scottish Crown Jewels, date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and are the oldest surviving set of crown jewels of the United Kingdom. The Crown of Scotland (1540), the Scepter (circa 1494), and the Sword of State (1507) are the three main Honours of Scotland. They were first used together as coronation regalia at the coronation of the nine-month-old Mary I, Queen of Scots in 1543, and subsequently at the coronations of her infant son James VI, King of Scots (later also King James I of England) in 1567 at Stirling Castle, her grandson Charles I, King of Scots (also King of England) in 1633 at Holyrood Palace, and her great-grandson Charles II, King of Scots (also King of England) in 1651 at Scone. The Honours of Scotland are on display in the Crown Room at Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Queen Elizabeth II being presented with the Crown of Scotland in 1953

During her first visit to Scotland after her coronation, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom received the Honours of Scotland during a National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland on June 24, 1953. During the service, the Honours of Scotland were formally presented to Queen Elizabeth II by Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton. The Queen then returned them to the Duke of Hamilton. The Duke of Hamilton is the senior dukedom in the Peerage of Scotland and the Hereditary Bearer of the Crown of Scotland.

King Charles III will be presented with the Honours of Scotland during a National Service of Thanksgiving at St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland on July 5, 2023. Queen Camilla and The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay, as The Prince and Princess of Wales are known in Scotland, will also be attending. During the service, Dame Katherine Grainger (a Scottish former rower, world champion, Olympic gold and silver medalist and current Chair of UK Sport) will carry the new Elizabeth Sword, the Sceptre will be carried by Leeona Dorrian, Lady Dorrian, The Lord Justice Clerk, the second most senior judge in Scotland, and the Crown of Scotland will be carried by Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 16th Duke of Hamilton in his role as the Hereditary Bearer of the Crown of Scotland.

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The Crown of Scotland

 

Made in 1540 by Edinburgh goldsmith John Mosman, the Crown of Scotland is the oldest surviving crown in the United Kingdom and among the oldest in Europe. A crown must have been made during the reign of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots (reigned 1306 – 1329) or his son, David II, King of Scots (reigned 1329 – 1371) from the House of Bruce, as David was anointed and crowned, as were all the subsequent Scottish monarchs from the House of Stuart through Charles II. Most likely, it was this crown that was remodeled into the current crown. The current crown was remade for James V, King of Scots who first wore it to the coronation of his second wife Marie of Guise at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland on February 22, 1540.

The base of the Crown of Scotland is a circlet of solid gold set with twenty-two large pearls and twenty gemstones, all from the old crown. On the top edge of the circlet are forty gold half circles. Each half circle is topped by an alternating sequence of twenty pearls, ten gold fleurs-de-lis, and ten gold crosses fleury with pearls and gemstones. The circlet supports the four solid gold arches from the old crown. The arches are topped by a gold orb, enameled blue and covered with small gold stars, and topped by a gold cross with eight pearls and a large amethyst. James V’s royal cypher ‘JR5’ appears on the lower arm of the cross.

The Crown of Scotland was used in the coronations of the infant monarchs Mary, Queen of Scots in 1543 and her son James VI, King of Scots in 1567. In 1603, upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England, James VI, King of Scots succeeded her as King James I of England. Until the Acts of Union were passed in 1707 during the reign of Queen Anne, uniting England and Scotland into a single kingdom called Great Britain, the Stuart monarchs were both Kings/Queens of England and Kings/Queens of Scots. During this period, the Stuart monarchs lived nearly all the time in England. In the absence of a resident monarch of Scotland, the Honours of Scotland were carried to sittings of the Parliament of Scotland in Edinburgh to symbolize the monarch’s presence and the royal assent to legislation.

The Crown of Scotland was used at the coronation of Charles I as King of Scots at the Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh in 1633, and of Charles II as King of Scots at Scone Abbey in Scone in 1651. The remainder of the monarchs of Scotland were never crowned but rather just took the Scottish coronation oath. During the English Civil War when Oliver Cromwell seized power and the monarchy was overthrown, Cromwell had the Crown Jewels of England destroyed. Cromwell also wanted to destroy the Honours of Scotland but they were secretly buried at Dunnottar Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland until the monarchy under Charles II was restored in 1660.

Until the Acts of Union in 1707, the Crown of Scotland was present as a symbol of royal authority at the opening of each Parliament of Scotland. With the union of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Honours of Scotland no longer had a ceremonial role in the new Parliament of Great Britain in London. The Honours of Scotland were locked away in a chest at Edinburgh Castle where they remained forgotten until 1818, when a group of people, including the author Sir Walter Scott, set out to find them. Since 1819, the Honours of Scotland have been on display in the Crown Room of Edinburgh Castle. They are removed only for state occasions which first happened in 1822 when they were presented to King George IV at Holyrood Palace during his visit to Edinburgh, the first visit to Scotland by a reigning monarch since King Charles II in 1651. Since 1999, the Crown of Scotland has been present at each Opening Ceremony of the Scottish Parliament.

The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II with the Crown of Scotland in St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland; Credit – British Monarchy Facebook Page

After the death of Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle, her home in Scotland, her coffin was transported first to Holyrood Palace, the Royal Family’s residence in Edinburgh, Scotland. The next day, Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin traveled by procession from Holyrood Palace up the Royal Mile to St. Giles Cathedral where it lay in state with the Crown of Scotland upon it.

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The Sceptre

The Sceptre; Credit – Credit – Historic Environment Scotland

The Sceptre, a rod held by the sovereigns at their coronation, was a gift from Pope Alexander VI to James IV, King of Scots in 1494, replacing a 14th-century sceptre that had been lost. The silver-gilt sceptre has a handle attached to the bottom of a hexagonal rod topped by a finial. The rod is engraved with grotesques, urns, leaves, thistles, and fleurs-de-lis. The finial features small figures of the Virgin and Child, St. James the Great and St. Andrew within Gothic canopies, flanked by stylized dolphins, a symbol of Christ’s Church and topped by a polished globe of rock crystal.

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Sword of State

The old Sword of State, now too fragile to use in ceremonies; Credit – Historic Environment Scotland

In 1507, James IV, King of Scots was granted the title Protector and Defender of the Christian Faith by Pope Julius II. Along with the title, the blessed sword and the blessed hat were gifts offered by popes to Catholic monarchs in recognition of their defense of Christendom. The sword given to James IV later became the Scottish Sword of State. Made by Italian craftsman Domenico da Sutri, the sword measures 5 feet / 137.8 cm long. Etched on either side of the steel blade are figures of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and the words: JULIUS II PONT MAX (Julius II Supreme Pontiff) in inlaid gold lettering. The silver-gilt handle is decorated with oak leaves and acorns, with two stylized oak leaves which overlap the scabbard, and a crossguard in the form of dolphins. The Sword of State’s wooden scabbard is bound in crimson velvet with silver-gilt repoussé work and hung from a sword belt made from woven silk and thread of gold with a silver-gilt buckle.

King James IV’s sword was presented to Queen Elizabeth II at the 1953 Service of Thanksgiving, however, it was considered too fragile to be used during the presentation of the Honours of Scotland to King Charles III in 2023. With the approval of the Scottish government, Joseph Morrow, Lord Lyon King of Arms, who is responsible for overseeing state ceremonial in Scotland, commissioned a new sword to replace it.

The new Elizabeth Sword

The new Sword of State is called the Elizabeth Sword in honor of Queen Elizabeth II. It was designed by former Ormond Pursuivant of Arms Mark Dennis based upon traditional Scottish flora and made by expert Scottish craftspeople. The sword’s pommel is made of Lewisian gneiss from Iona and the hilt is made of oak from Perthshire. The hilt and the crossguard are a swirling thistle, the floral emblem of Scotland. The blade is engraved with the royal motto of Scotland: “In my defens God me defend” on one side and on the other side with the motto of the Order of the Thistle in Latin: “Nemo me impune lacessit” – “None attack me unpunished.”

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The Stone of Scone

The Stone of Scone under the Coronation Chair; Credit – Wikipedia

The Stone of Scone, also known as the Stone of Destiny will also be in St. Giles Cathedral during the ceremony on July 5, 2023. It is a large block of red sandstone, weighing about 335 pounds, which was used for centuries in the coronation ceremonies of the sovereigns of Scotland. During the First War of Scottish Independence in 1296, the Stone of Scone was seized by King Edward I of England, who brought it to Westminster Abbey. He then had the Coronation Chair made to house the stone, and it has been used for every English and British coronation since 1308. In 1996, the Stone of Scone was returned to Scotland with the provision that it will be brought to Westminster Abbey for the coronation of future British sovereigns. It was last used in the coronation of King Charles III in 2023.

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Works Cited

  • Crown of Scotland (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_of_Scotland (Accessed: 03 July 2023).
  • Elizabeth Sword (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Sword (Accessed: 03 July 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2021) St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/st-giles-cathedral-in-edinburgh-scotland/ (Accessed: 03 July 2023).
  • Honours of Scotland (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honours_of_Scotland (Accessed: 03 July 2023).
  • Honours of Scotland (no date) Edinburgh Castle. Available at: https://www.edinburghcastle.scot/see-and-do/highlights/honours-of-scotland (Accessed: 03 July 2023).
  • Mehl, Scott. (2023) The Coronation Chair and Stone of Scone, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/the-coronation-chair-and-stone-of-scone/ (Accessed: 03 July 2023).
  • Sceptre; Pre 1494; medieval; Edinburgh Castle: Hist env Scotland (no date) Sceptre; Pre 1494; Medieval; Edinburgh Castle | Hist Env Scotland. Available at: https://www.historicenvironment.scot/archives-and-research/archives-and-collections/properties-in-care-collections/object/sceptre-pre-1494-medieval-edinburgh-castle-13021 (Accessed: 03 July 2023).
  • Scottish Coronation Event: Details Revealed for Edinburgh Ceremony (2023) BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-66056826 (Accessed: 03 July 2023).