Three people were arrested in Edinburgh on Wednesday on suspicion of trying to damage the “Stone of Destiny” in protest against poverty, a block of sandstone used for centuries for the coronations of British monarchs, police said.
Two women and a man, all aged in their twenties, were arrested in connection with a “small action” which took place mid-morning at Edinburgh Castle, Scottish Police said.
The “stone of destiny”, which weighs 152 kg, is an ancient symbol of the Scottish monarchy, brought from Scotland as spoils of war by Edward I, king of England between 1272 and 1307.
“Some damage”
Briefly stolen by Scottish students in 1950, the stone was symbolically returned to Scotland in 1996, at the height of the rise of independence sentiment. But she returns to Westminster for the coronations.
According to Historic Environment Scotland, an organization responsible for promoting Scottish heritage, the glass protecting the stone, which is on display among the Scottish crown jewels, suffered “some damage”. “The protection was not broken and the jewels themselves were not damaged,” a spokesperson said.
The association behind the “This is Rigged” action, which denounces the Scottish government’s inaction on climate and the cost of living crisis, has said its activists have painted in Gaelic on the window the inscription “The people are more powerful than a lord”, as well as the logo of the movement.