Magna Carta copy arrives in US for exhibit

It was care fit for a king: The yellowing parchment was fitted inside a custom-designed aluminum and steel case with monitors, then wrapped in specially made packaging. Once it was on the plane, a canon chancellor nervously tracked the flight as it crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
That document, a rarely seen copy of the Magna Carta, had never before left England's shores and only once been outside its home in the Hereford Chapel near the Welsh border. Now, the famous charter, written nearly 800 years ago and considered one of the most important documents in the history of democracy, is safely ensconced in the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences, where it will be part of an exhibit that opens Friday.

"A very historic flight for us, and the cathedral and the document," said Glyn Morgan, chief executive of the Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust, who accompanied the document on its journey and is helping ensure it is properly cared for during its stay in Houston.
It will be on display for six months before being whisked back for a celebration of its 800th anniversary.
The Magna Carta was first issued on June 15, 1215, by England's King John in Runnymeade. The document was designed to prevent civil war by granting rebellious barons certain freedoms, including three that are enshrined in American government: an acknowledgement that taxes cannot be arbitrary, that free men cannot be imprisoned without first being judged by their peers or the law and that justice cannot be denied or delayed.