The Jewel House: An Account of the Many Romances Connected with the Royal Regalia: Together with Sir Gilbert Talbot's Account of Colonel Blood's Plot

The most famous heist in English history began with a bishop's cassock and ended with a man dangling from a noose - except it didn't. Colonel Thomas Blood walked into the Tower of London in 1671 disguised as a clergyman, charmed the elderly Master of the Jewels, and walked out with the Crown Jewels in his pockets. He nearly escaped with the crown, orb, and scepter worth a fortune - only stopping because a diamond fell from his bag. This book contains the full account of that impossible crime, alongside the rich history of England's royal regalia from the Anglo-Saxon kings to the modern crown. Younghusband draws on family documents (his ancestor was the trusting Talbot whom Blood seduced) to reconstruct not just the heist itself but the entire lore of the Crown Jewels: the sacred origins, the religious significance, the political power they represented, and the numerous times they came close to being lost, stolen, or destroyed. For anyone who has ever stood before the Crown Jewels and wondered about the stories behind them, this book opens a door into centuries of drama, ambition, and the eternal lure of beautiful, powerful objects.