Time passed. The elder prince was 16 years of age. Venerable Veedagama Thera, got down the prince. The army chiefs were also asked to come to the temple. By this time, the clergy too had lost confidence in Alakeshwara, mainly because he did not belong to the line of rightful kings. The venerable Thera introduced the prince to the army chiefs.

An incident which shocked the entire country took place forty years ago. On October 14, 1967, vandals attacked the world famous Sigiriya frescoes – an act which no one could understand why. The Government took urgent action to obtain the services of experts to restore the affected paintings. An expert from Italy managed to save the frescoes.