Destiny calls stars to premiere of Scone stone film

A HOST of stars are expected on the red carpet in the Capital today for the world premiere of Stone of Destiny.

The film, directed by Charles Martin Smith, tells the story of the theft of the stone from Westminster Abbey in 1950.

It stars Scots Billy Boyd and Robert Carlyle, along with American Kate Mara, all of whom are are due to be at tonight's event.

Academy Award winners Sir Sean Connery and Tilda Swinton are also expected to attend the gala screening at Cineworld in Fountainbridge.

The origins of the Stone have been lost to history but it is believed to have been used at Iona and Scone for enthroning a succession of monarchs.

It was captured by Edward I of England in 1296, who took it south and placed in Westminster Abbey, where it remained for the next 700 years.

On Christmas Day 1950, four nationalist students stole the Stone from Westminster Abbey in London and drove it north.

It resurfaced around four months later, after being deposited by the thieves in Arbroath Abbey, draped in a saltire, and was taken back to England.

The script is based on the memoirs of one of the students, Ian Hamilton, who is played by Charlie Cox.

On St Andrews Day, 30 November 1996, the Stone of Destiny returned to Scotland and was installed in Edinburgh Castle.