Stone of Destiny is a historical drama which premiered in 2008. It is based on a book written by Ian Hamilton. Both the book and the drama are based on a true story:
The Robin Hood-like operation which took place on Christmas Day in 1950 when four young Scottish nationalists broke into Westminster Abbey, removed the Stone of Destiny – an ancient relic connected with the crowning of Scottish kings – and brought it back to Scotland.
While the perpetrators were highly motivated, they were not exactly professional burglars. Almost everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, but in the end the plan was crowned with success. The story is so fantastic that it is hard to believe, but it is a true story.
Stone of Destiny is not a Hollywood project, it is a British-Canadian project, written and directed by Charles Martin Smith, who liked the idea of the underdog, the four young Scottish nationalists, against the might of the British Empire.
The main characters are:
** Ian Hamilton (1925-2022) played by Charlie Cox
** Gavin Vernon (1926-2004) played by Stephen McCole
** Alan Stuart (1930-2019) played by Ciaron Kelly
** Kate Matheson (1928-2013) played by Kate Mara
** John McCormick (1904-1961) played by Robert Carlyle
** Bill Craig played by Billy Boyd
The first four characters on the list are the perpetrators:
Ian Hamilton was the one, who had the idea and who made the plan
Gavin Vernon was the big guy, who would provide the muscle
Alan Stuart was the shy guy, who wanted to prove himself
Kate Matheson gave the group a feminine touch
John McCormick was a Scottish nationalist politician, who said he liked the plan, but could not be a part of it, because of his position: he was the Rector of the University of Glasgow (1950-1953)
Bill Craig was Hamilton’s friend, who was part of the original plan, but dropped out at the last minute, because he thought the plan was too risky
Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. Therefore, I feel free to mention some of them in this review.
While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here. But the basic story is true.
PART ONE
In the old days, the Stone of Destiny - also known as the Stone of Scone - was kept at Scone Abbey near Perth in Scotland. Nobody knows how old it is or where it came from, but for centuries it was connected with the crowning of Scottish kings.
In 1296, the English King Edward I attacked several locations in Scotland and brought the stone to London where it was placed under a special chair in Westminster Abbey. Since then, it was connected with the crowning of English kings and queens.
In December 1950 it was removed and transported to Scotland, but only for a brief moment:
In April 1951 it was placed in Arbroath Abbey where it was discovered by the police.
It was carefully transported back to England and returned to Westminster Abbey in February 1952, in time for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in the following year.
In 1996, during an official ceremony, it was transported to Scotland where it was placed in Edinburgh Castle.
But it is only a loan. The British Government explained that the stone will be returned to Westminster Abbey whenever there is a coronation.
The coronation of King Charles III is planned for Saturday 6 May 2023.
In connection with this ceremony, the stone will be transported to Westminster Abbey in London.
Once the ceremony has been completed, it will be returned to Scotland.
The original abbey which housed the Stone of Scone no longer exists. Today a modern replica of the stone is placed on Moot Hill in front of a small chapel that was built ca. 1804.
Scone Palace, which was rebuilt in Gothic style 1803-1812, is still standing today.
As stated above, this historical drama is based on a book written by Ian Hamilton, whose account of the heist has been published three times:
The first edition
No Stone Unturned
1952
The second edition
The Taking of the Stone of Destiny
1991 and 1992
The third edition
Stone of Destiny: The True Story
2008
The third edition of the book was a tie-in with the drama, which was shown in theatres in the UK in October 2008 and in Canada in February 2009.
It was released on DVD in April 2009.
Hamilton, who was a consultant on the film, has a cameo appearance for a few seconds: he plays a British businessman who passes Charlie Cox and Stephen McCole in the car park next to Westminster Abbey.
In this moment, Hamilton passes a younger version of himself.
PART TWO
What do reviewers say about this drama?
The response was mixed: some reviewers liked it, while others were not so happy with it.
On Rotten Tomatoes it had a rating of 53 percent. But this was in the past. When I visit the website today, the rating of this drama has disappeared!
On IMDb it has a rating of 67 percent.
Some reviewers complain about the accents.
Charlie Cox is an English actor, while Kate Mara is an American actress.
Why not use Scottish actors to play Scottish characters? Only the director Charles Martin Smith knows the answer to this question.
Perhaps he could not find a Scottish actor who looked like Ian Hamilton. This is probably why he chose Charlie Cox.
Perhaps he wanted to have a famous face to market his film in the US. This is probably why he chose Kate Mara.
In an article in The Guardian, Kirsty Scott explains what happened to the perpetrators of the heist:
“Hamilton was caught after police discovered he had taken out every book relating to Westminster Abbey from his local library. None of the perpetrators were ever prosecuted, ostensibly because ownership of the stone would have been difficult to prove. In truth, a trial would have been a PR disaster for the establishment.”
PART THREE
According to Kirsty Scott, the drama has a high level of historical accuracy:
“Smith has taken pains to ensure the film's historical accuracy, something that won him access to film in Westminster Abbey.”
This statement is rather surprising, because even though some scenes were shot inside Westminster Abbey, there are in fact several cases where historical truth has been violated. Here are a few examples:
# 1. When Hamilton takes the train from Glasgow to London to do some research in Westminster Abbey, we see a train crossing a viaduct. This is the Glenfinnan Viaduct which is a part of the West Highland Line. This beautiful panorama is not on the line from Glasgow to London!
# 2. When the four perpetrators are driving in two cars from Glasgow to London, we see them driving on a road along a river. This is the Glen Etive, which is north of Glasgow. This beautiful scenery is not on the road from Glasgow to London!
In both cases, it seems, having an impressive location was more important than observing and respecting historical accuracy.
# 3. When Ian Hamilton meets John McCormick to ask for financial support, McCormick tells Hamilton to leave, but when Hamilton is outside the building, McCormick opens a window on the first floor and throws a piece of paper down to him.
What is it?
It is a white 50-pound note. But this kind of money was not in circulation in the UK in 1950. It seems the director forgot to check what kind of money was being used in 1950!
# 4. The heist takes place on Christmas Day. During the winter season, the days are short and the nights are long. At one point we see a clock, which says 5.30 in the morning. In the real world it would still be dark. The daylight would not come until 7 or 8. But in the film it is already daylight!
It seems the director forgot to think about the difference between summer and winter in London.
# 5. In the drama, we see the perpetrators place the stone in Arbroath Abbey and wait for the police to show up. And we hear the sirens of the police cars and then we see the policemen who come to arrest the perpetrators.
This scene is wrong in almost every way.
(a) When the stone was placed in the abbey, the curator of the abbey did not call the police at once. He gave the perpetrators some time to disappear before he called the police.
When the police arrived, they found the stone, but the perpetrators were long gone. They were arrested later.
(b) The sirens are wrong. In the drama, the police car has a two-tone siren, but this type of siren was not used in 1950. At that time, the police still used bells to announce their presence!
PART FOUR
Why did Hamilton and his friends do it? What was the point? Hamilton said he wanted to wake up the people of Scotland. At the time, the Scottish National Party had almost no popular support.
According to Hamilton, the stone was not stolen, it was liberated. England had stolen the stone in 1296. Scotland had been wronged by England, and the four nationalists simply wanted to right the wrong; they wanted to return the stone to its rightful place.
Why did the perpetrators leave the stone to be found in Arbroath Abbey? Because it was a place of historical significance; it was the site where a famous declaration of freedom had been signed by Scottish leaders in 1320.
The last words in the drama are spoken by Hamilton, who quotes the Arbroath declaration of 1320:
“As long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom – for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.”
CONCLUSION
As stated above, this drama received a mixed response. I can understand why. There are both positive and negative elements in this drama.
On the positive side I must say the story is funny as well as fantastic.
On top of that, it is a true story, which deserves to be told, and in this case, it is done quite well.
On the negative side I have to say that historical truth has been violated in several cases.
On top of that, there is a problem with the accents and the language spoken.
What does this mean?
What is the conclusion?
Having considered all aspects and factors, I am now ready to offer my response:
** It is too harsh to focus on the negative elements and give this drama a rating of only one or two stars.
** On the other hand, it is too easy to focus on the positive elements and give this drama a high rating of four or five stars.
I want to find a position between the two extremes. This is why I think this historical drama deserves a rating of three stars (60 percent).
PS # 1. Scone Palace by Jamie Jauncey is a guidebook which was published in 2015 about the Scottish palace in Perthshire.
PS # 2. The Coronation Chair and the Stone of Scone by Warwick Rodwell is a book which was published in 2013 about the history of the stone and the coronation chair.
PS # 3. The Stone Returns is a short clip from 1951. A newsreel produced by British Pathé. It is available on YouTube.
PS # 4. The following items are available online:
** “Gavin Vernon,” an obituary in The Herald of Scotland, 1 April 2004
** James Irvine Robertson, “The Stone of Destiny,” Scotland Magazine, issue # 37, March 2008
** Kirsty Scott, “The Caledonian job,” The Guardian, 14 October 2008
** Olga Craig, “Ian Hamilton on Stone of Destiny,” The Telegraph, 14 December 2008
** Marie Macpherson, “The Stone of Destiny,” English Historical Fiction Authors, 29 November 2013
** Christopher Howse, “Sacred Mysteries: The Stone at the next coronation” The Telegraph, 13 December 2013
** Richard Halloran, “The sad, dark end of the British Empire,” Politico Magazine, 26 August 2014
** “Alan Stuart,” an obituary in The Herald of Scotland, 12 June 2019
** Katherine Bussey, “Stone of destiny to be moved to London for King’s coronation, The Press and Journal, 11 September 2022
** Neil Drysdale, “Why will the Stone of Destiny be used in the Charles III coronation,” The Courier, 22 September 2022
** Steven Brocklehurst, “The students who stole the Stone of Destiny,” BBC News, 6 October 2022
*****
Stone of Destiny
A historical drama
(2008)
*****
Stone of Destiny:
The True Story
by Ian Hamilton
(Third edition, 2008)
*****
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