MAN WHO STOLE CROWN JEWELS.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 May 1937, Page 14 (Supplement)

MAN WHO STOLE CROWN JEWELS.

In a short time the Royal Regalia will be used in the Coronation of King George VI. If it had not been for a young man who lived in the reign of Charles H., the' present crowns, orb, sceptre and other magnificent pieces that form the Regalia, would not be here. It was shortly; after the Regalia had been. made, to take the place of that destroyed in' the time of Oliver Cromwell, when an adventurer named Colonel Blood dressed as a clergyman and, having gained the' friendship of the ratherelderly guardian of the jewels in the Tower of London, was invited to dinner one night with two equally daring friends. After the meal, Colonel Blood and his companions stunned the old man, gagged him and, taking his keys, unlocked the old-fashioned safes where the treasures were kept. So far so good. Everything seemed to be going their way. Suddenly, when they were about to run off with the spofi, the old man's son made ,an imexpected return from abroad wherq he had been taking part in some wars. The young soldier immediately gave the alarm and, although- Colonel Blood and his companions managed to get out of the Tower with a crown, orb and sceptre, they were caught at the moment they were leaping upon their horses. Now comes the oddest thhig of all. Colonel Blood was such a charming man that Charles II, not only pardoned him but actually gave him a pension of £500 a year. This is all the more surprising because in those bad old days men were hanged for stealing sheep, or even for stealing bread..