The Crown Jewels On Visit To The Castle In Edinburgh Scotland

Tour Scotland travel video, with Scottish music, on ancestry visit to the Crown Jewels located in Edinburgh Castle. The Honours of Scotland, informally known as the Scottish Crown Jewels, dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, are the oldest surviving set of crown jewels in the British Isles. The Honours were first used together at the coronation of the nine month old Mary Queen of Scots in 1543, and subsequently at the coronations of her infant son King James VI, and I of England, at Stirling castle in 1567 and her grandson King Charles I in 1633 at the Palace of Holyrood. The crown was last worn at the coronation of King Charles II at Scone by Perth, Perthshire, in 1651. The Sceptre is surmounted with three figures supporting a crystal globe, a cut and polished rock crystal, with a Scottish pearl on top. The Sword of State was presented to King James IV in 1507 by Pope Julius II . Following the Treaty of Union in 1707, the ancient crown jewels of Scotland disappeared for a century. The regalia of Scotland were among the most potent symbols of Scottish nationhood. During the occupation of Scotland by Oliver Cromwell in the 1650s, the Honours were one of his most sought after targets. His army was fast advancing Scone and King Charles ordered the Earl Marischal to take the Honours and many of his personal papers to safety at Dunnottar Castle. Dunnottar Castle was the home of the Earl Marischal of Scotland, once one of the most powerful families in the land. The Earl Marischal oversaw all ceremonial activities in the Scottish Court, including coronations. At the Restoration in 1660 the Honours were returned to King Charles II and placed in Edinburgh Castle. All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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