The Scottish crown jewels hidden for over a century — and the writer who found them

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In 1818, a small group of men climbed to a locked tower room in Edinburgh Castle and broke a seal that had not been touched in 111 years. Inside a heavy oak chest, wrapped in rotting linen, lay the oldest surviving crown jewels in the British Isles. They had been there all along.

This is the story of the Honours of Scotland, and the extraordinary journey that brought them back from the edge of oblivion.

What are the Honours of Scotland?

The Honours of Scotland are the Crown, Sceptre, and Sword of State, and they are the oldest surviving crown regalia in the British Isles, older than the English Crown Jewels by more than a century. The Crown was refashioned for James V in 1540. The Sceptre arrived in 1494, a gift from Pope Alexander VI to James IV. The Sword of State followed in 1507, presented by Pope Julius II.

Together, they were used to crown every Scottish monarch from Mary Queen of Scots to Charles II. They are not merely ceremonial objects. They are physical evidence of Scotland’s independence as a nation.

Cromwell’s invasion and the race to save the regalia

In September 1650, Oliver Cromwell’s forces invaded Scotland. The regalia were hurriedly moved north to Dunnottar Castle, a near-impregnable fortress on the Aberdeenshire clifftops.

For eight months, a small garrison held the castle against Cromwell’s forces. Then, in the spring of 1652, with surrender inevitable, the Honours vanished. Cromwell’s soldiers searched the castle when it finally fell. They found nothing.

Hidden beneath a church floor

What had happened was this: a local minister named James Granger and his wife Christian Fletcher had smuggled the Honours out of Dunnottar before its fall, concealed among bundles of flax lowered over the walls. They were hidden beneath the flagstone floor of Kinneff Kirk, a small country church south of Stonehaven.

For eight years, the Grangers tended to the regalia in secret. On dark nights, they lifted the flagstones and brought the Crown, Sceptre, and Sword into the air to prevent damp from destroying them. The risk was enormous. Discovery would have meant death. They told nobody.

Cromwell never found them.

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The Restoration, and then 111 years of silence

When Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, the Honours were brought back to Edinburgh in triumph. They were used one final time in 1707, when the Scottish Parliament was dissolved by the Acts of Union. After that, the Honours were locked in an oak chest in the Crown Room of Edinburgh Castle.

Decades passed. Then a century. The chest gathered dust. At some point, the rumour spread that the Honours had been quietly removed to London. Most people believed it.

The novelist who refused to believe they were gone

In 1817, Sir Walter Scott became convinced the Honours were still in the castle. He petitioned the Prince Regent for a royal warrant to open the chest, and after months of correspondence, the warrant was granted.

On 4 February 1818, Scott led a small search party into the Crown Room. They broke the seal. They opened the chest. Inside, beneath centuries of darkness, the Crown, Sceptre, and Sword of State lay exactly where they had been left 111 years earlier.

Scott was reportedly shaken. One witness recalled that tears ran down his face. He wrote afterwards that it was one of the most affecting moments of his life. The Honours went on public display in the Crown Room the following year and have not left since.

Where to see the Honours today

The Honours of Scotland are displayed in the Crown Room inside Edinburgh Castle, where they have been since 1819. They sit alongside the Stone of Destiny, the ancient coronation stone returned from Westminster Abbey in 1996 after 700 years in England.

Standing a few feet from objects that survived an eight-month siege, eight years under a church floor, and 111 years locked in a chest is genuinely extraordinary. Most visitors to the castle rush through. Budget twenty minutes. You will not regret it.

For more of Edinburgh’s remarkable history, the National Museum of Scotland holds centuries of Scottish heritage under one roof, and admission is free.

Frequently asked questions

Where are the Scottish Crown Jewels kept?

The Honours of Scotland are kept in the Crown Room at Edinburgh Castle. They have been on permanent public display since 1819 and are included in the general castle admission price.

What is the difference between the Honours of Scotland and the Stone of Destiny?

The Honours of Scotland are the Crown, Sceptre, and Sword of State, the ceremonial regalia used to crown Scottish monarchs. The Stone of Destiny is the ancient sandstone block on which Scottish kings were traditionally coronated. Both are now displayed together in the Crown Room at Edinburgh Castle.

How old are the Scottish Crown Jewels?

The Honours of Scotland are the oldest surviving crown regalia in the British Isles. The Sceptre dates from 1494, the Sword of State from 1507, and the Crown from 1540. They predate the English Crown Jewels, which were created after the originals were melted down during the English Civil War.

For 111 years, the Honours sat in darkness in a locked chest. It took a novelist who understood the weight of history to remember they were there. Some things are simply too important to stay hidden.

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