Man Charged With Attempted Theft Of Magna Carta
A man from Devon has been charged with attempted theft and criminal damage of the Magna Carta.
The charges relate to an incident at Salisbury Cathedral on October 25.
Mark Royden, aged 46, is due to appear at Salisbury Magistrates Court on June 28.
Salisbury Cathedral’s copy of the text is one of four that remain in existence from the original 1215 charter.
King John issued the Magna Carta after agreeing peace terms with a band of rebel barons and it is now one of the world’s most celebrated legal documents.
It established for the first time that neither monarch nor government was above the law and set out principles of liberty which echoed through the centuries.
The ancient manuscript went back on public display in February after work was carried out its case, which was damaged during the incident.