In case any members of the Royal Family are reading this, the theft happened on the morning of the 9th May but way back in 1671 and is part of our “This day in history” series.
Back on the 9th May 1671, an Irishman by the name of Colonel Thomas Blood embarked on one of the most daring plans in British criminal history – to steal the crown jewels from under the very noses of the warder who was meant to look after them.
This was partly made possible by the widespread bribery of the Tower chief warder’s who for a fee would allow most people to view the crown jewels of the British monarchy. The jewels were of course kept behind iron bars, so in theory at least would not have been in any danger.
However on this day, Thomas Blood accompanied by a small number of associates and having befriended the warder & family, took it upon himself to cut through the bars and remove the crown, the Sovereign’s Orb and Sceptre.
All the items were severely damaged in the raid as non were that easy to conceal, but the three did make it out of the tower, past the drawbridge and all the way to the Iron Gate before being captured.
Remarkably, considering he had committed high treason, Blood not only got away with the crime but was actually given £500s worth of land in Ireland and a pardon. The reasons the king did this have never been fully explained, although some suggest that actually he rather liked the rouge nature of blood and audacity of the crime.
Today the crown jewels are viewable by anyone visiting the Tower of London, but they may have slightly better security than a few iron bars to protect them.
London links:
The full story on Wikipedia of Thomas Blood
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