King Charles III will be presented with the Honours of Scotland at a National Service of Thanksgiving that will be held at St. Giles’s Cathedral in Edinburgh. It will be an historic moment in his reign. The Honours are colloquially known as the Scottish Crown Jewels. Aside from a few specific occasions, they are normally held in the Crown Room at Edinburgh Castle. 

Edinburgh Castle dominates the centre of Scotland’s capital from its position on Castle Rock. The castle is made up of several different buildings, including the Royal Palace, St. Margaret’s Chapel, and barracks.

The Royal Palace sits on Crown Square with the buildings around the Square completed during the reign of King James IV in the early fourteenth century. While there were many people who lived in the Castle, royals would live in the Palace as it was the most luxurious section.

The Crown Room is a part of the Royal Palace, and this is where the Honours of Scotland are kept. This room in particular has quite an interesting history.

With the Act of Union in 1707, there was no longer a separate Scottish throne. This meant that there was no use for the Honours of Scotland, as the existing British Crown Jewels were used instead. 

After the Act was signed, the Scottish Crown Jewels were locked in an oak chest and the doorway into the Crown Room was bricked over. It sat undisturbed for nearly a century until the room was opened briefly in 1794 during a search for papers; the chest was assumed to be empty and was left, and the room was sealed up again. 

In the early nineteenth century, Scottish separatists were pushing to find the Honours, and the Prince Regent granted author Sir Walter Scott the authority to conduct a search. Scott located the room and the jewels inside.

Scott asked that the jewels be available for the public to see, and they were put on display in the Crown Room at Edinburgh Castle.