The Stone of Scone, temporarily reunited with St Edward’s chair for the king’s coronation on Saturday, May 6 was taken from Scotland as one of the spoils of war by King Edward I in 1296.
Fitted into the chair made for it in 1300, every monarch has been crowned on it since 1399. It may have been used at the coronation of Edward II in 1308, but possibly not as the chair used for the crowning. The stone was originally concealed completely within the body of the chair, but later damage means that when in place, it is now visible. By order of Queen Elizabeth II, the stone was returned to Scotland in 1996, 700 years after its removal.
The Stone of Scone attracts the attention, but on a quiet corner in a London suburb, there is what is thought to be yet another coronation stone, which has an interesting claim to fame. Next door to the Guildhall of Kingston-upon-Thames, surrounded by blue rails simulating a crown, is the coronation stone of England. It is believed to be the seat on which the first king of a united England, Athelstan, was crowned in 925. Before that date, since at least 556, what is now England had been divided into the Heptarchy, seven independent, and often warring kingdoms.
The first coronation of an English king took place, not in Westminster Abbey, but probably on a dais on the site of what is now All Saints church in Kingston. It is likely that Kingston was chosen because it was close by the border of two of the old kingdoms, Wessex and Mercia, which became part of Athelstan’s new realm. He seems sat on the stone for at least part of the ceremony.
It is believed that at least seven kings were crowned in Kingston, in the church of St Mary, which fell down in 1730. The stone is said to have been rescued from the ruins. There are no records to say why no further coronations were held in Kingston and there are no written records of the coronation stone dating from before the late 18th century. One thing has survived though.
The ordo, the basis or order of the coronation of Athelstan has been followed at every coronation since. It was undoubtedly the precedent that was written into the Liber Regalis, the Royal Book, produced in 1382, for the coronation of King Richard II and his queen, Anne of Bohemia. It is, in effect, the guidebook for designing a coronation, and has been followed, with modifications, at every coronation since.
The past really is our guide to the future. To know where we are going, we have to know where we have been.
Image Credits: Ethan Doyle White , Cornell University Library .