The most notorious royal jewel robberies in history: from the crown of Charles IX to the blue diamond of Marie Antoinette

Throughout history, royal jewelers have been the protagonists of grand thefts. Authentic treasures for thieves who see in these priceless jewels, not only because of their famous owners but also because of their luxurious composition, a movie loot.

However, these events have not only occurred in the past (many of them kept secret), but have also occurred more recently. Thus, although we imagine the extreme security measures that Máxima de Holanda's jeweler or Queen Letizia's jewels must have, in some cases this has not been enough. Being some of them carried out by white glove thieves but others by coarser or even noble looters.

We start with one of the most recent royal jewel robberies. Last May 2021, a relic of the monarch María Estuardo was stolen. On February 8, 1587, the Scottish queen climbed the scaffold at Fotheringhay Castle for an alleged conspiracy against her cousin, Queen Elizabeth of England. An act in which he carried a valuable rosary in his hands, which was stolen this March at Arundel Castle, in the south of England.

It was not the only piece stolen, since, when the police arrived to report the alarm, the thieves had also managed to take several gold goblets that were used in the coronation of Queen Stuart and other objects decorated with stones precious. Therefore, given their historical fame, it is feared that they have been disassembled into pieces to be sold separately.

A very common practice that horrifies historians, but that helps to place these jewels on the market. As they are famous ornaments, it is very difficult for them to be sold, for fear of being quickly recognized by someone. What was precisely also feared in a robbery that occurred in the Royal House of Sweden.

We go back to the year 2018, when two crowns from the Royal Treasury of Sweden were stolen from an exhibition in the Strängnäs Cathedral, located in the same city. It was the funerary crown of King Carlos IX and his wife, Queen Cristina, original from the 17th century. In addition, the thieves took a real orb, the traditional representation of the globe, and various ornamental jewels. A robbery that remains unsolved, although luckily the jewels were recovered, after finding them thrown away by several wastebaskets in Stockholm due to a tip-off.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened to the Scandinavian royals, since six years earlier they had stolen several jewels from Princess Cristina in the Royal Palace in Stockholm. King Carlos Gustavo's sister lives in some apartments inside the palace with her husband, and there she kept pieces that she had inherited from her parents in a safe.

However, after returning from a party they saw that they were not there, raising the alarm. The Swedish police discovered that the perpetrator of the robbery had been a young man taken in by the royal couple, who had sold the disassembled jewels for only 1,000 euros (its value being much higher). In addition, Princess Cristina's most luxurious tiara was thrown into one of the city's canals, as the detainee feared that it would be traceable.

Speaking of actual jewelry heists, it seems the worst option isn't always getting caught. Thus at least it is extracted from the curse that seems to hang over the blue diamond of Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette. Also known as the Hope diamond or Tavernier Blue, it was found in a mine in India in the 17th century. A unique gemstone that was acquired by the merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier.

Although, according to legend and reflected by Susanne Steinem in her book 'Blue mystery: The story of the Hope Diamond', there are also those who believe that this jewel was carved by an ancient deity of the Sun. Beyond its mundane origin or divine, the reality is that Tavernier sold it to the Sun King (curiously), Louis XIV of France, who used it as one of his favorite jewels. However, after his death, it was put on hold until King Louis XVI gave it to his wife, Queen Marie Antoinette.

The curse of the blue diamond

Forming part of the Royal Treasury of France, after the French Revolution it was stolen. His journey did not end here, since when the French authorities did not ask for his return, he ended up in the hands of a diamond dealer named Daniel Eliason, returning to public life in the 19th century as part of Henry Phillip Hope's private collection of gems. , as narrated by the University of Toronto professor Marian Fowler in her book 'Hope: Adventures of a diamond'.

From here on, its legend begins to expand, since the misfortunes that occurred to Hope and her descendants were attributed to a diamond curse. In addition to beginning to remind himself of the hardships of other owners of the Tavernier Blue.

Its first bearer, the merchant Tavernier, ended up bankrupt and froze to death in poverty in Russia; the only one of Louis XIV's mistresses who wore it (Madame de Montespan) fell out of favor with the king, and the beheading of Marie Antoinette did not help his fame either.

Years later, it would reach the hands of the Russian prince Iván Kanitowski, who gave it to his lover Lorens Ladue, murdered days after receiving it. An endless number of coincidences or realities that have led to this stolen blue diamond from the French court reaching even greater fame. Right now, since 1958, it can be enjoyed at the National Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institution of the United States.

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We jump from the Court of France to the Royal Court of Spain to talk about the famous Peregrina pearl. A jewel that continues to generate debate among experts, since there are various theories about its origin and especially its destiny.

Despite its traveler essence, since it was discovered in Panama around 1515, its name Pilgrim comes from the meaning that this adjective had in old Castilian: rare and special. Thus, since the time of Felipe II it became one of the most special jewels of the Spanish royal family and of all of Europe.

However, with the arrival of Joseph I (Napoleon Bonaparte's brother) during Spain's invasion of France, this pearl passed into the hands of his wife, Queen Julia Clary. Thus, although she never set foot on Spanish soil, her husband did send her the royal jeweler to France, where the Pilgrim Girl stood out.

However, after her overthrow, and with the arrival of the Bourbons again to the throne, she did not return these jewels, but left with them for the United States, where she sold most of the jewels, although not the pearl. This jewel would pass after her death to her nephew Carlos Luis Napoleón-Bonaparte (future Napoleon III), who after going into exile in England sold the famous pearl in 1848 to the Marquis of Abercorn.

The Pilgrim pearl then passed through different hands, Alfonso XIII also tried to get it as a gift for Queen Victoria Eugenia, although he had to settle for buying another similar one, until in 1969 it jumped back into the public eye at an auction at the that Richard Burton bought it for $37,000 as a gift to Elizabeth Taylor.

The actress wore it on multiple occasions, including in films like 'Anne of a Thousand Days' and after her death it was auctioned at Christie's in New York for nine million dollars.

The Portland Tiara

Although some thefts are committed by queens, such as the aforementioned case of Julia Clary, the most typical is that white collar thieves carry out these thefts. This is precisely what happened with Britain's 'national treasure', as he called the Portland Richard Edgcumbe tiara, from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

A precious diadem that the sixth Duke of Portland, William Cavendish-Bentinck, ordered at the Cartier jewelry store as a gift to his wife to attend the coronation of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra (Princess of Denmark), the queen's great-grandparents Elizabeth II. A very special piece of goldsmithing that had all kinds of precious stones, the most special being the Portland Diamond (Portland diamond).

Valued at nearly €4 million, the famous tiara was passed down through the generations until Ivy Cavendish-Bentinck donated it to her Harley Gallery and Foundation in Welbeck in 1977 along with a matching diamond brooch. A scene from which it was removed on November 20, 2018, when a criminal gang crashed an Audi A5 into the museum and then broke the armored display cases that protected the famous tiara and the Portland brooch.

A hit that happened in less than 90 seconds. Although 13 people were arrested in connection with this theft, the Portland tiara and brooch have not been recovered. Again, because "it is such a well-known piece that it cannot be easily sold publicly," expert jewelers explained to the BBC, betting that it would have been dismantled to sell the loose diamonds.

The peculiar case of Céphas Bansah also leads us to some stolen crowns. The king of the Hohoe Gbi, a tribe of about 200,000 people belonging to Ghana of the Ewe ethnic group, is known as the mechanical monarch. While doing a student exchange in Germany, he met his wife, Gabrielle, and decided to settle in the country.

However, after the death of his grandfather and the inability of his father and older brother to be appointed chiefs of the tribe for being left-handed (which is seen as a symbol of dishonesty in their culture) he was appointed new monarch of the Hohoe Gbi.

A fact that did not lead him to leave Germany, since he thinks he can get more funds like this to help his people. From there he connects by Skype every day when he finishes his job as a car mechanic and teacher of this trade. A monarch unknown to the majority of the public who did not prevent him from being robbed.

While he and his family were enjoying a theatrical performance in the city of Ludwigshafen am Rhein, where they live, someone broke into his home and stole four gold crowns. A trophy valued according to the German police at about 20,000 euros.

A list of famous robberies related to royalty that also include the disappearance of Empress Sissi's diamonds or the disappearance of extremely valuable 18th century jewels belonging to Frederick-Augustus, Prince of Dresden and King of Poland, when they were in the Dresden State Art Collection. Without forgetting the theft of jewelery and watches suffered by Mohamed VI.

All of them pieces of great economic value, but also historical, artistic and sentimental value that have starred in movie thefts. Whether they are unsolved or solved mysteries, what seems clear is that for centuries royal jewelers have been a very tempting booty for thieves.