Honours of Scotland back on public display at Edinburgh Castle

The Honours, which includes the Crown and Sceptre of Scotland, were first used to crown Mary Queen of Scots and were famously hidden after the Act of Union in 1707, until they were rediscovered many years later by the author Walter Scott. 

The Honours will be able to be viewed socially distanced with a new queuing system implemented in Crown Square to manage access. This follows other innovations at the site, including the introduction of painted circles around the world famous one o’clock gun, as well as the use of QR codes and new audio guides to continue to tell the story of one of the country's most iconic sites.

For more on attractions reopening from April onwards, visit our hub page.

Alex Paterson, Chief Executive of HES, visited Edinburgh Castle today (Thursday, 29th April), for a preview ahead of the official reopening to the public. He said: “Our heritage sites are home to over 5,000 years of history and we can’t wait to welcome visitors back once more, so they can once again experience Scotland’s history.

“As before, there will be measures in place to facilitate social distancing, as well as new innovations to the visitor experience including new audio tours and digital content.

 “We know how much people enjoy being able to access heritage sites, and we’ve worked hard to provide a mix of sites across the country, with over 70% of our sites opening up on the 30th and many others on a phased basis over the next few months.

“On the eve of what is a historic reopening, it’s been great to be at the castle to see all the hard work of the teams coming to fruition as we get ready to welcome visitors once more.”

Tickets for Edinburgh Castle can be booked in advance from the HES website.

Report courtesy of Historic Environment Scotland.