<p>The crown of thorns is said to have been seized from Constantinople, the capital of the Roman Empire, during the Fourth Crusade - around A.D. 1200 - and was later sold to King Louis IX of France while he was in Venice.<br /><br />King Louis kept the relic in the specially-built Saint Chapel and the thorns were broken off from the crown and given as gifts to people who married into the family.<br /><br />The thorn at Stonyhurst College - a 400-year-old boarding school in Lancashire - was said to have been given to Mary Queen of Scots who married into the French royal family and she took it with her to Edinburgh.<br /><br />After her execution in 1587, it was passed from her loyal servant, Thomas Percy, to his daughter, Elizabeth Woodruff, who then gave it to a Jesuit priest in 1600.<br /><br />The priest brought it to the college and it has been kept at the Ribble Valley College ever since, the Daily Mail reported.<br /><br />The thorn now is to be loaned to the British Museum for a new exhibition - "Treasures of Heaven" - inspired by saints, relics and devotion in medieval Europe.<br />The thorn has Mary Queen of Scots's pearls twined around it.<br /><br />Jan Graffius, curator at Stonyhurst, said: "It is an incredible object and we are really delighted that it will form part of the British Museum exhibition. It is a priceless treasure."<br />The exhibition will open June 23 and run till Oct 9.<br /></p>
<p>The crown of thorns is said to have been seized from Constantinople, the capital of the Roman Empire, during the Fourth Crusade - around A.D. 1200 - and was later sold to King Louis IX of France while he was in Venice.<br /><br />King Louis kept the relic in the specially-built Saint Chapel and the thorns were broken off from the crown and given as gifts to people who married into the family.<br /><br />The thorn at Stonyhurst College - a 400-year-old boarding school in Lancashire - was said to have been given to Mary Queen of Scots who married into the French royal family and she took it with her to Edinburgh.<br /><br />After her execution in 1587, it was passed from her loyal servant, Thomas Percy, to his daughter, Elizabeth Woodruff, who then gave it to a Jesuit priest in 1600.<br /><br />The priest brought it to the college and it has been kept at the Ribble Valley College ever since, the Daily Mail reported.<br /><br />The thorn now is to be loaned to the British Museum for a new exhibition - "Treasures of Heaven" - inspired by saints, relics and devotion in medieval Europe.<br />The thorn has Mary Queen of Scots's pearls twined around it.<br /><br />Jan Graffius, curator at Stonyhurst, said: "It is an incredible object and we are really delighted that it will form part of the British Museum exhibition. It is a priceless treasure."<br />The exhibition will open June 23 and run till Oct 9.<br /></p>