LONDON (AP) — A man from Australia has been charged with “malicious mischief” for allegedly smashing a glass case holding the Stone of Destiny, an ancient symbol of Scottish nationhood.
Arnaud Harixcalde Logan, 35, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court on Monday to face the charge, which is similar to vandalism.
Logan, whose address was given as Sydney, wasn't asked to enter a plea and was ordered detained until a hearing next week.
Police said that they were called to a “disturbance” at Perth Museum in central Scotland on Saturday, after reports of a kilt-wearing man attempting to smash the case containing the royal rock.
The 335-pound (150-kilogram) sandstone block is also known as the Stone of Scone (Skoon) — and was used in the crowning ceremonies of medieval Scottish monarchs at Scone Abbey, near Perth. It was stolen by England’s King Edward I in the 13th century and taken to Westminster Abbey in London, where it was installed under the seat of the coronation chair.
It has been used in coronations at the abbey ever since — first of English and then of British monarchs The English and Scottish crowns were united under one monarch in the 17th century.
The stone’s presence in London long irked Scottish nationalists. In 1950, it was stolen from Westminster Abbey by four Glasgow university students, but was returned in time for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
It was given back to Scotland in 1996, 700 years after its seizure, and displayed in Edinburgh Castle, with the understanding that it would return to England for use in future coronations. Sensitivities around the stone meant that it had to be moved to London in secrecy and amid tight security for the coronation of King Charles III in 2023.
Last year it was put on display at the newly renovated Perth Museum where, according to the building's website, there are “a range of 24/7 security measures in place at the Museum to protect this precious object.”
Culture Perth and Kinross, which oversees the museum, said the stone wasn't damaged in the incident.