Colonel Blood’s Theft of the Crown Jewels From the Tower of London
Colonel Thomas Blood (1618 – 1680), an Anglo-Irish officer from County Clare, was one of Britain’s most audacious rogues, who became known as “The Man Who Stole the Crown Jewels”. The son of a prosperous blacksmith, the future Colonel Blood came from a good family – his grandfather lived in a castle, and was a Member of Parliament.
His career as a rogue started with the English Civil War, when Blood left for England in 1642, to fight for King Charles I. However, when it became clear that the royalists were going to lose, Blood abandoned Charles and switched to the king’s Parliamentarian enemies. Charles I was defeated and beheaded. In the new regime, Blood was rewarded with a big estate and was made a justice of the peace. He prospered, but in 1660 the monarchy was restored, and Charles I’s son assumed the crown as king Charles II. Blood lost all his lands, and fearing reprisals, fled to Ireland with his family.
Blood was understandably unhappy with his reversal of fortunes, and became an avowed enemy of the monarchy. He plotted to kidnap the royal governor of Ireland and hold him for ransom, but the plot failed. Blood’s brother, a coconspirator, was captured and executed for treason, while Blood fled to Holland with a price on his head. He returned in 1670 and hatched another plot to kidnap the governor of Ireland. It failed. At that point, desperately short of funds, Blood decided to go for a daring score: he would steal the Crown Jewels of England.
The Crown Jewels were kept in a basement in the Tower of London, beneath the floor of the Keeper of the Jewels’ apartment. The jewels were available for viewing, upon payment of a fee to their custodian. Blood disguised himself as a parson, went to see the jewels with a female companion whom he presented as his wife, and befriended the Keeper.
Over the following days, Blood ingratiated himself with the Keeper and his wife, whom he won over with gifts of fine gloves. He won them over even further by playing matchmaker, and proposing a marriage between a fictitious wealthy nephew, and the Keeper’s spinster daughter. The Keeper, eager to finally marry off his daughter, invited Blood and his nephew to dinner. So on May 9th, 1671, Blood arrived for dinner with his “nephew” and two “relatives”.
While waiting for dinner, Blood convinced the Keeper to show his nephew and relatives the jewels. Eager to impress his prospective son-in-law, the Keeper unlocked the door to the basement. Once inside, Blood and his “nephew” threw a hood over the Keeper’s head, knocked him out with a mallet, stabbed him, then bound and gagged him. Blood then used the mallet to flatten the crown so he could conceal it beneath his clerical robes, while his accomplices stuffed scepters and other jeweled items down their trousers. In the meantime, however, the Keeper managed to remove the gag and began screaming “Treason! Murder! The crown is stolen!“.
Blood and his accomplices fled, while engaging in a running shootout with the guards. Eventually, he was cornered, and after a struggle, was subdued and the crown was recovered. His accomplices were also captured, and the stolen items were recovered. Unrepentant, Blood declared: “It was a gallant attempt, however unsuccessful! It was for a crown!”
Blood refused to answer any questions except to the king, so he was taken in chains to the palace. Charles II, nicknamed “The Merry Monarch“, found the audacious scoundrel appealing. Especially when Blood declared that the Crown Jewels were worth 6000 pounds at most, not 100,000 pounds as widely reported. When Charles asked, “What if I should give you your life?” Blood replied, “I would endeavor to deserve it, Sire!” The king pardoned Blood, and granted him an estate worth an annual income of 500 pounds.